Tea Stories

Nepal's geography and climate make it ideal for growing tea, and its harvest falls into distinct seasons called "flushes." Each flush gives tea with its own flavour and quality. Here's a guide to Nepal's tea seasons, with the Nepali names farmers use and how each season shows up in your cup.

1. Spring flush: Pahilo Chiyapaat (first tea leaf)

Timing: mid-March to May
Conditions: 15 to 25°C, occasional spring showers, longer days

The tea:

• Delicate, floral flavours, the most prized of all the flushes
• A light, bright cup with subtle aromas
• The most L-theanine of any flush, for the calmest, most focused energy

Harvest: only the youngest buds and leaves are picked, which takes skilled, very selective pickers. Yields are low, but quality is at its highest.

Tea farmer Dandu Prasad from Ilam: "Pahilo Chiyapaat is our most precious harvest. The tea is so delicate, we must pick with great care."

Our teas with strong first flush character: Floral White Tea (spring blossom, soft rose, peach fuzz) and Floral Green Tea (florals close to jasmine).

2. Summer flush: Doshro Chiyapaat (second tea leaf)

Timing: June to mid-July
Conditions: 20 to 30°C, pre-monsoon humidity, long days

The tea:

• Stronger and fuller-bodied, with more muscatel character
• A darker, more robust cup than the spring flush
• This is when the classic Darjeeling and Nepali muscatel character appears

Harvest: leaves grow faster, so they're picked more often. Yields are higher than in spring.

Gold Black Tea: summer harvest at 5,500 ft

Smooth malt, caramel, and honey with a clean finish. Grown by Farmers Tea Co in Ilam at 5,500 ft and made from golden tips from the summer harvest. The farm is certified organic.

Try Gold Black Tea

3. Monsoon flush: Barkha ko Chiya (monsoon tea)

Timing: mid-July to September
Conditions: heavy rain, high humidity, changeable temperatures

The tea:

• Bold, malty flavours and a dark, full cup
• Often used for CTC (cut, tear, curl) tea for everyday drinking
• More volume, but lower quality than spring or autumn

Harvest: leaves grow so fast they need picking almost every day, and yields are the highest of the year. Tea picker Mukta Devi says: "Barkha ko Chiya is hard work. We pick in the rain, but the plants grow so fast!"

4. Autumn flush: Teshro Chiyapaat (third tea leaf)

Timing: October to November
Conditions: cooling temperatures, less rain, shorter days

The tea:

• Complex, mellow flavours with a distinctive autumn warmth
• A copper-coloured cup quite unlike spring or summer tea
• The last harvest before winter dormancy, when the plant puts the rest of the season's energy into its leaves

Harvest: slower growth allows more selective picking. Yields are moderate and quality is high, and it's cooler work for the pickers.

Our teas with strong autumn character: Muscatel Black Tea and Special Black Tea from Taplejung.

Winter dormancy: Hiundo ko Sutaaai (winter sleep)

Timing: December to February
Conditions: near freezing, dry, short days

The tea plants go dormant and nothing is picked. This rest matters: the plant stores nutrients, recovers from the season, and sets up the quality of next year's first flush. The deeper the winter dormancy, the stronger the spring first flush character.

What shapes tea quality across the seasons

1. Elevation: higher gardens (5,000 to 7,000 ft) consistently make better tea, because slow growth concentrates the flavour.
2. Rainfall: enough rain improves the flavour, while too much (in the monsoon) dilutes it.
3. Sunlight: the balance of sun and shade changes the leaf's chemistry, and more L-theanine forms in cooler, cloudier weather.
4. Plucking standard: two leaves and a bud matters in every flush, but most in spring.
5. Processing speed: processing quickly after picking preserves quality, especially in the warmer summer and monsoon flushes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best tea flush to buy from Nepal?

First flush teas (spring, March to May) are the most prized, with the most L-theanine, the most delicate florals, the lowest yields, and the most complexity. Second flush (summer, June to July) gives the classic muscatel character Darjeeling and Nepali teas are famous for. Autumn flush (October to November) offers mellow complexity and good value. In the end it comes down to what you like in your cup.

Why does the same farm produce different teas in different seasons?

The same plant grows very different leaves through the year because conditions change so much. Temperature, rain, humidity, daylight, and soil moisture all change the leaf's chemistry: its L-theanine, catechins, essential oils, and cell structure. Spring leaves are small, dense, and rich in compounds, while monsoon leaves are large, full of water, and less complex.

Do Nepal Hills Tea products specify which flush they come from?

Our teas can be traced to specific farms and regions. Because we work in small batches, individual teas aren't always labelled by flush, but their flavours reflect particular harvests. The honey-grape character of our Muscatel Black Tea is classic second flush, and the spring-blossom delicacy of our Floral White Tea reflects first flush.

Related Reading

• Understanding Tea Flushes: First, Second, and Autumn Harvest
• What Makes Nepali Tea Farming Unique?
• How Is Tea Grown in Nepal?
• What Is Ilam Tea? Nepal's Most Celebrated Growing Region
• What Is Taplejung Tea? Nepal's Rarest High-Altitude Black Tea
• Tea Tourism in Nepal: Visit Ilam During Harvest Season