The teas of Sikkim

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Nikhil Pradhan was roasting coffee when I called him last winter. Pradhan and his wife Dolka Densapa run Bermiok, a tea estate and coffee farm in Sikkim.

The tea garden was closed for the season but it was harvest time for coffee. Their arabica coffee is entirely consumed within Sikkim. Their teas, however, do travel out of the state.

And this week, I sat down to taste three of their 2024 teas. Bermiok is one of two tea factories in Sikkim, the other being the state-owned Temi Tea. “The late Bermiok Rinpoche is my wife’s father," explained Pradhan.

“Though he was identified as a Buddhist reincarnate of a lama at a young age, he chose to be a layman. He went on to become a Buddhist scholar and also served the government of Sikkim as a secretary in various departments." Tashi Densapa, or Bermiok Rinpoche as he was known, spent his life serving his community and for years helmed the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology. In 1999, says Pradhan, when landowners were selling unused agricultural land to the state for various projects or commercial construction, the Rinpoche chose to use his land to benefit the people without adversely impacting the environment.

Tea was chosen as tea cultivation was being encouraged by the Tea Board of India at the time. The Rinpoche’s vision was an environmentally conscientious enterprise that empowers women and makes a remote hamlet known internationally, said Pradhan. They adopted biodynamic farming practices and as it turned out, the state itself decided to go completely organic in 2003.

Tea is planted on about 10 acres. In 2008, they set up a micro-factory to make orthodox and artisanal tea. Supporting them are veteran tea experts from the region and it shows