SetiDevi Tea Farm

SetiDevi

Seti Devi Tea Farm

It is a young tea garden with a factory located in Suryodaya village southeast of Fikkal town in Ilam district in eastern Nepal. The garden is situated in a picturesque hilly landscape at an altitude of 1000-1500 metres and consists of two main divisions of 7 and 8 hectares. The garden was established in 1989 and has been planted mainly with tea trees of the Goomtee and T78 cultivars. Today it consists of approximately 61 thousand bushes with an annual production of 20 tons of tea. The factory was built in 2012. About 95% of the employees are women. The great advantage of SetiDevi is that the garden and the factory are in the hands of one owner. Unlike factories that buy tea from individual farmers, here at SetiDevi they can control everything that happens in the garden and the factory.

Mrs. Nikita Nepal

Journey and welcome

We met one of the owners and also the marketing director of SetiDevi Garden, Mr. Rajesh Rauniyar, back in Kathmandu. It was he who offered us transport from the Nepalese capital to Ilam in his car. The navigation showed 5 hours 29 minutes and 486 kilometers. Therefore, we were a bit surprised by the information about the early departure at 4 o’clock in the morning. After fourteen hours of travel we arrived at six in the evening. Ilam welcomed us with pleasant cool weather, beautiful green slopes with tea bushes and most importantly nice smiling people.

The very next day we visited the SetiDevi garden and factory. Every welcome is a small ritual in Nepal. All the family members are lined up in front of the house to welcome us. We are given flowers and a traditional shawl. It’s all very nice. We have a chance to say hello to everyone and talk briefly. Then we are invited into the house for lunch and refreshments. Afterwards we walk through the garden and tour the small factory. We meet the rest of the SetiDevi team.

Mr. Rajesh Rauniyar

From Aroma to SetiDevi

Until recently, the garden presented itself under the name Aroma Tea. Last year, a very nice autumn Aroma Jeevan Gold tea appeared in our offer. Now we learn that this tea was named in honor of the founder of the garden, who is also the head of the family. The garden is really picturesque with wonderful views. The shrubs are in great shape. We hope that it will produce many beautiful teas in the future.

Tasting in the open air

Open Air Tea Tasting

We are also invited to a tasting of teas from the current season. The tasting takes place in the open air, as in many other places in Nepal. Local factories tend to be more modestly built than in neighbouring Darjeeling and do not have tasting rooms. Tea tasting in the open air has its own unique charm. Tasting teas directly with the team of tea producers and growers has its advantage as well. We are grateful for such moments when you can discuss the character of each tea with the people who created it. To discuss the effect of different conditions on the resulting flavour and aroma of the tea. The spring season has peaked and we have tasted many great teas. In the end, we liked the Seti Devi White Tips tea the best, which we have included in our offer.

Thank you, SetiDevi!