A tea garden in the Dooars. (File picture)

Siliguri, July 4: Indian tea appears to be generating a lot of interest in the US.

A group of American businessmen will be in the region in March next year to explore the commercial potential of tea and also “learn about the culture that produces it”.

Organised by The Tea House, a Chicago-based company, the visit is part of an extended tour stretching from Sri Lanka to India and Nepal during which tea-tasting sessions will be sandwiched between excursions to the Taj Mahal and Rajasthan forts.

“We have organised such tours to China in the past,” wrote Dan Robertson, the proprietor of The Tea House, in an email. “The purpose is to let the team-members experience and learn about the various subjects related to tea as well as the culture that produces it. We will study tea history, production and manufacture, trade, evaluation and traditions.”

About 10-15 members, “mainly from North America”, are expected to come. “Some are importers and wholesalers, others are retailers in search of first-hand knowledge. The team will also have writers and a few dedicated tea drinkers,” said Robertson.

After four days in Sri Lanka, the team will begin its Indian leg with the Nilgiris in south India. In Calcutta it will meet a few brokering firms, attend tea-tasting sessions and meet senior tea board officials. “We want to know how the business of tea is conducted in India,” Robertson said.

Later, the team will explore the tea estates of Darjeeling, Terai and the Dooars. It will also visit gardens in Nepal and Assam, besides Temi, the only tea garden in Sikkim.

The visit is a pointer that interest about tea is picking up in the US, said industry insiders. Robertson said ready-to-drink tea bottles are very popular in his country.

Rajiv Lochan of Lochan Tea Ltd, which is taking care of the Indian leg of the tour, said it could boost exports. “American businessmen are looking for tie-ups so that they can directly buy tea from here instead of the brew routed through Germany,” he said.

“We met Robertson at the World Tea Expo in Atlanta some time ago,” Lochan said. “When we heard of the Chinese tours, we proposed similar tours to India.”