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At Mana Organics, we are constantly experimenting with tea. From new planting practices, iterating on our organic compost ratios, and playing with factory settings, we try new ways to bring you better tea every day. Our tea is so delicious as a drink, we hadn’t given much thought to what tea could become beyond beverages. Until now- Our dear friend, Brittany Loyer, an amazing self-taught cook, has undertaken experimenting with Mana Organics tea, beyond the humble, though delicious, cup of chai. Her second recipe (read her first here) is a rose petal and orange blossom Mizu shingen mochi with kinako...

Guest Post by Avani Jalan What’s with the flush? You must have heard about spring flush, or second flush with regard to tea when you buy them at fancy tea stores, or perhaps have seen it mentioned in descriptions of tea that you see online. These references to the ‘flush’ indicate the season during which the tea was plucked and manufactured. For Assam teas, we normally have 3 flushes, the Spring flush, also referred to as the ‘first flush; Summer/Monsoon flush – most commonly referred to as the second flush, and Autumn flush or the third flush. The term ‘flush’...

Second of a two part series. Read the first part, "The Road to Tawang" Our first view of Tawang came just below the Jawant Singh Memorial, still two hours drive from the town. The monastery sits on a ridge overlooking the steep valley we had still to traverse, its yellow roofs cutting into the deep blue sky. When we reached the town, after a visit to the famous waterfall pictured above, we found a town that hugs the valley wall below the monastery, sprawling around the many ridges and crevasses. The topography makes walking the town a fun adventure of...

We at Mana Organics, when we are not making compost, developing products, chasing packaging suppliers, or writing blogs, love to travel. For our latest adventure, we decided on a road trip to Tawang, a remote corner of India, bordering Bhutan, and Tibet. A Drive Over Right Arm of the Himalayas The drive itself was a large part of this trip’s attraction, especially for Avantika. Tawang lies nestled in the Purvanchal range, or the eastern Himalayas, in North-east India. The road climbs up the sheer foothills, and then dips through mountain valleys, eventually culminating at the Sela Pass, the highest motorable...

If you have ever researched starting a business, you have found a plethora of articles featuring copious amounts of armchair quarterbacking, but little reality. Mana Organics just celebrated its first year of USA operations. We’ve learned a lot, and wanted to share some of those lessons today. We have not put these lessons in any particular order, but hope that they provide a sense of the realities that come with starting a business. 1. Get a sales department I’m a Berkeley trained economist by academic background. I wish that sales was a simple as Dr. Zilbo explained. “A product is...