Taste the Hills of Ilam. Rooted in Ilam. Brewed for the World.

Every summer break, while other children were playing, my world was turning emerald green.

I would travel to my maternal home in Fikkal, Ilam, where the mountains don’t just touch the sky, they hold it up. Standing on the edge of our family land, I looked across endless hills of tea gardens. To a young boy, it felt like an ocean of leaves, and I was always amazed that this beauty belonged to us.

I wasn’t just a spectator. I was part of the rhythm.

I remember the weight of the basket, the smell of damp earth, and helping my maternal grandfather and grandmother carefully pick delicate tea leaves. From them, I learned patience, the kind that only the land can teach.

I remember carrying fresh harvests down to the Fikkal tea factory with my uncle, and watching another uncle work inside, where the real transformation happened. I saw how simple green leaves were naturally processed into something extraordinary.

Even then, a thought stayed with me:
“How can I deliver this premium tea, our tea, to the world?”