News

What we have accomplished so far As of January 15, we have managed to open bank accounts for all Chota Tingrai’s permanent workers. Additionally, 85% of casual workers now have accounts. We hope to complete casual worker bank account enrollment in a few weeks. The credit for this progress goes to our banking correspondents. They have worked tirelessly, helping workers fill out applications. They have met with bank officials innumerable times to ensure the bank understands workers’ needs. Thanks to the banking correspondents, the bank has agreed to install ATMs with biometric identification. This will eliminate the potential of pin...

From Idea to Product Transforming an idea into a real product is one of the rewarding parts of starting a business. And it is also one of the most risky and expensive. One can spend thousands if not millions of dollars designing the “perfect” product and then find no one wishes to buy it. But this is changing. Designers have started to abandon the traditional method of spending years and millions of dollars trying to design the perfect product through focus groups and market research. Recently, a different product development methodology has taken hold: Minimum Viable Products. Minimum Viable Products...

For generations, cultures around the world have used tea in their everyday lives. Whether it’s the tea stall on Calcutta streets, age old tea ceremonies in Japan, High-teas in English culture, or the new tea houses in cities all over the world bringing tea and people together. As we continue working with tea, we realize how much we love tea, and everything that’s involved in making this amazing beverage. Whether its in the tea gardens, the factory – or in our kitchens. Tea has introduced us to amazing people, in different walks of life – and there’s no better way...

Last week we wrote about the typical tea’s journey. This week, we want to tell you how we bring our teas to you! At Mana, we are the producers, packagers, exporters, importers and retailers. The tea comes from our family owned estate – Chota Tingrai, in Tinsukia, Assam. The tea is manufactured and packed at the Estate, and sent to Calcutta for customs clearance and shipping. The tea is then shipped directly to our warehouse in St. Louis, Missouri, upon US customs and FDA clearance. Once it reaches our warehouse, it is ready for dispatch. As soon as we get...

When buying tea at the store, you probably don’t think about from where it came. But that tea made a lengthy journey before reaching that shelf. If you pick up black tea, it likely grew in the state of Assam in north-east India. There small grower garden, family owned tea estates, and huge multinationals produce 6,100 metric tons black tea a year. Most growers sell their teas at auction houses in India. This hasn’t really changed since 1861, when the British established the first auction house, J.Thomas, in Calcutta. Producers send their tea to the auction houses, and the auction...