This tea grows in home gardens scattered across Solukhumbu — the Everest region — at 5,900 to 8,500 feet, some of the highest tea gardens on earth. It exists because of the Himalayan Project Nepal (HIPRON), a non-profit that spent decades on education projects in the region before helping local farmers build something sustainable: the Bhakanje Tea Estate, founded in 2019. Its factory manager, Janaki Khadka, is the region's sole female tea maker.

Everest Black is a monsoon flush, hand-picked during Nepal's rainy season. The constant rain makes the leaves grow thinner and faster — a 10-day cycle instead of the usual two weeks — so the tea makers extend the withering to concentrate what flavor the leaves hold. The result breaks the black-tea rulebook.

In the cup: brisk and full-bodied but surprisingly smooth — earthy depth, a cool lift of eucalyptus, and sweet honey underneath, without the sharp bite of a typical high-grown black. Robust and invigorating, yet easy to drink.

Ingredients: Black tea, golden tips (Camellia sinensis). Certified organic.

Brewing: 2g (about 1 tsp) per 8 oz water at 210°F, steep 5 minutes.