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1. Every tea leaf in Assam is hand-plucked. 2. In India, only the tea tribes really know how to pluck tea. No formal training programs in plucking exist. Mothers mentor their daughter over many years to pass on the skill.  The women who pluck the leaves know exactly which point on the leaf is the ‘break’ point, and what size of leaves to pluck. Good quality plucking requires immense concentration and skill. 3. The Indian tea industry employs more women than any other industry in world. Women make up nearly 100% of the pluckers. 4. One can pluck a tea...

When all of Kolkata Stops The city shuts down for a week. Traffic is insane. For a month, you see bamboo facades in the most inconvenient intersections in the tiniest of lanes. You curse the city, you curse the traffic, you wish you were out of this hell-hole. Then comes the first day of Durga Puja. There’s a flowery aroma in the air. The hot, humid air gets a twinge of coolness. You hear drums. Huge crowds of revelers choke the streets until 5 am. They 'hop' from one ‘pandal’ to the other. Street hawkers line the sides. Adults dress...

I don’t think I had a real cup of tea until 29. And I don't think that I liked a tea bag until Avantika and I made our own. I grew up in a house that woke up to the aroma of dark roast coffee. For my first summer job, I danced around with a foam arrow pointing advertising “iced coffee." I was a barista the next summer. During the Peace Corps, I survived on Nescafé the consistency of drained motor oil. Marshall tried to convert me over tea, but the only stuff he could get his hands on tasted...

I met Marshall when we served together as Peace Corps Volunteers in Thailand. He has always been one of the most giving people I have ever met. I think he might be a Bodhisattva. He spreads joy everywhere he travels by just engaging with people in their lives. He is infinitely curious. Not about the big questions or science or politics but about the everyday things that make life, well life. I only know Marshall to have strong opinion about four things: bread, honey, fruit, and tea. Back in our Peace Corps days when everyone else reached for a beer,...

At Mana Organics, we do a lot of things differently from other tea companies. We focus on quality production, ethical sourcing, community profit sharing, and authentic organic production to a degree we haven't found matched in India or beyond. Here are 5 ways Mana Organic tea differs from the competition and give you a better cup of tea. 1. Mana Organics Teas provide a unique, SINGLE ESTATE  experience Most tea bags you buy contain a mix of teas from all over the world. Even single region tea bags contain a blend sourced from multiple gardens. This mixing allows the seller...