An Innovative Tea Factory: Take a Trip With us to the Tea Studio (part 2)

From October 1st to 20th, our four tea tasters were visiting the Tea Studio, our innovative tea factory in the Nilgiri (India). As they've just returned from what was a particularly inspiring trip, Hugo, François, Jasmin were visiting the project for the first time. Here’s what they had to say:

Nature at its best

First and foremost, the architecture of the factory is simply splendid! Whichever way you look at it, the studio is beautiful. Located among a patchwork of small-holder tea gardens, every window frames a beautiful landscape image.

Contagious energy

Warmly welcomed with a ton of positive energy from everyone in the factory. We were warmed by the fact that everyone on staff seems to love what they do and also, and have excellent relationships with each other. François also spent time with Muskan, head of the team, to talk about their work and what it means to be an all-female team leading the project. Stay tuned for more on our blog!

A shared vision of respect

We also spent a day meeting with our Indian partners to discuss the progress, as well as future of the project. It was a great pleasure for us to realize how much we had in common and that our values and vision were well aligned. Although our local partners come from different industries (pharmaceutical, construction, tea and spices), they all had tremendous respect for one another. It made easy to agree on many ideas, including the establishment of a community-based project where 1% of each sale would go towards improving the infrastructure of the village as well as the purchase of fields around the Studio for tea growing. A great pleasure to meet such a strong and respectful team, very similar to our Camellia Sinensis partnership!

Knowledge shared

It was after a long journey and a short night's sleep that Mr. He and Mr. Tang, two of our favourite Chinese producers, arrived at the Tea Studio, they got straight to work. They were immediately interested in the leaves, the machines and our process, but they also took the time to taste the teas and visit the garden. Mr. Hewas bombarded with questions from Muskan, our head tea-maker who was really excited to receive so much priceless advice on how to improve the product. She also nicknamed Mr. He the "Tasmanian Devil”. As he spun around like a tornado, by the time our translator Yan had translated his instructions to Muskan, Mr. He had already moved on to something else! François also spoke with the two Chinese producers to get their opinion on the progress, their opinion on the potential of the factory as well as their first experience in India.
Stay tuned for more on our blog!

A dream come true

For our tasters this is a dream come true. The evolution of the project is developing well and is in tune with the vision they had originally. A true team effort, Jasmin will continue to work on improving the production and the quality of the tea. Hugo will build the work structures, Kevin will continue to share his tea knowledge and work as the bridge between the different cultures, while François will keep creating content and documenting our progress.