Jiti Tea Garden

Jiti Tea Garden is located out in Nagrakata, in the Jalpaiguri district. Unlike a shop in the city, we are right where the tea actually grows. It’s a different kind of life here. Our days start very early when the mist is still hanging over the bushes. You can see the green rows stretching out across the hills. It is a lot of work to keep a garden like this running. We have to watch the weather constantly because the rain in Jalpaiguri can be very heavy. We aren't a corporate office with people in suits. We are people who wear boots and spend time out in the dirt and the rain. The air here is clean, and you can smell the fresh leaves as they are being picked. We have our own processing areas where the leaves are dried and sorted. It’s a noisy, hot environment but it's part of the job. Being in Nagrakata means we are a bit far from the big cities, but we like it that way. We focus on the plants and making sure the soil is right. There are no fancy mission statements here, just the cycle of the seasons and the work that needs to be done to get the tea ready. We live and work on the land, and every day is pretty much about tending to the garden and seeing what the harvest looks like.