Guranse Estate

Nepal and Darjeeling are geographically very close with very similar seasonal patterns. Therefore the  1^st flush ( or new growth after winter dormancy), in both Darjeeling and Nepal is from early March to late April and is the most sought after. Guranse Tea Garden sits in the N.E of Nepal in the Dhankuta region. The garden grows its own tea as well as collecting and buying tea from local smallholders, thereby providing a secondary income for the people of this very poor region. The garden, established in 1990, is organic and is highly respected for the black teas it produces. The tea plant grown is of the China variety, camellia sinensis var. sinensis, which is able to withstand the cold temperatures of this mountainous region.

Tea has been growing in Nepal since the 1860s but due to a turbulent and economically unstable autocratic regime the tea industry did not take off until 1951 when the Rana dynasty fell. During the 1950s 60s and 70s most of the tea in the form of freshly plucked leaf was sold into Darjeeling factories where in some case it was passed off as of Darjeeling origin. However, from the 1980s onwards with the intervention of the Nepalese king designating 5 tea growing districts and focused governmental approach to improving production, marketing and education the tea, industry has grown. Nepal still faces many challenges including the infra structure of the country, the lack of reliable transport and the remoteness of many of the smallholders. However, the tea growers total respect for the land and nature has helped them to start to build a tea business which is now becoming respected the world over and their teas sought out for their quality and flavour.