Meet our Oolong + White Tea

Steeped in tradition. Our white peony and oolong teas come from the rolling gardens of the Wah Tea Estate in the Kangra River Valley of Himachal Pradesh, India.

The Wah Tea Estate's 500-acre farm is run by fourth generation tea growers who carefully pluck each leaf by hand. Their story  dates back to 1857 when British planters began growing tea with seeds smuggled from China. After an earthquake in 1905, the British fled and Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan took over ownership, renaming the estate after his hometown Wah in Pakistan, until he was forced to leave during the partition of 1947. The land was auctioned off by the government in 1953 to the family of Surya Jai Prakash, who is the fourth generation operator. He currently runs the estate with his family. We source both our Oolong and White Tea from their estate.

The growers we work with are dedicated to increasing biodiversity on their estate and maintaining the health of the soil where their tea bushes have grown for over a century. Located in Palampur at the foothills of the Dhauladhar mountain range, the estate forgoes the use of pesticides on their bushes to nurture healthy tea plants and ecosystems. They plant shade trees to further enrich the soil, regulate temperatures, retain moisture and reduce thermotropic pests. These practices increase the lifespan of the tea bushes, adding depth to the flavor of their leaves.

Over the generations, the Wah Tea Estate has refined their integrated pest management system to minimize waste and use what they have. Now in their second year of fully organic tea production, they fertilize the soil with in-house biochar they make using wood from pruned tea bushes at the end of the season. Alongside the tea plants, they grow crops of lemongrass and galgal (a Himalayan citrus) that are combined to create a natural pesticide to deter insects from eating the delicate tea leaves.

Wah White Peony

Lightly vegetal with mellow floral notes, this organic white tea is made with the first growth of fresh young leaves and tightly-clasped buds of Chinese tea bushes. During steeping, the delicate leaves and buds unfurl to resemble peony flower petals, hence the tea’s name.

Botanical name: Camellia Sinensis

Origin: Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India

Harvest date: late March- early April

Processing: April

Tasting notes: Mellow, fresh-cut grass, rain

Palampur Oolong

Oolong gets its distinct flavor from the process of oxidation: controlling the exposure of tea leaves to oxygen after being harvested. The plucked leaves are spread out in troughs with light overhead to dry and fans underneath to circulate air. The leaves are then rolled by hand to bruise their cell walls. As moisture inside the leaves evaporates, chlorophyll enzymes within the cell walls break down and release flavonoids stored inside. Working in small batches, our farmers evenly extract moisture, control oxidation and achieve consistent depths of flavor with every steep.

Botanical name: Camellia Sinensis

Origin: Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India

Harvest date:

Processing: April

Tasting notes: Malty, nutty, sweet