"With increasing health awareness, people are turning to green tea, medicinal tea and herbal drinks. Though still a niche market, demand for these varieties of tea has grown sizeable," said Madhav Dip Thapaliya, deputy director of National Tea & Coffee Development Board (NTCDB).[break]
Compared to last year, traders said local demand for orthodox tea has increased by up to 15 percent.
"Most people who visit my store ask for orthodox tea, especially green tea. Orthodox tea is believed to have medicinal properties besides being more refreshing," said Navin Maharjan, proprietor of Himalayan Tea Corner, Dharmapath. Maharjan is in the business for 12 years and has three stores in the capital.
According to leading tea stores in the city, in the last few years they have observed a great shift in tea drinking habit of individuals.
Until 2 to 3 years ago, people won´t know much about orthodox tea. They mainly consumed CTC tea but today people are health conscious and ready to change their preferences if that means some health benefits," said Dipesh Gurung of Ranbir Trading at Maharajgunj.
Green tea, orthodox black and white tea, Tulsi health drink, medicinal tea, oolong tea, silver tips tea, rose tea, mint tea are among the different varieties of orthodox tea available in the market. These teas are available in the range of Rs 350 to Rs 2,500 per kg.
According to NTCDB, Nepal currently exports orthodox tea to America, United Kingdom and Germany in large quantities and Hong Kong, Netherlands and Japan in smaller volume while it imports CTC tea to meet domestic consumption.
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