Tea the simple yet artful beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured dried leaves of the Camellia Sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to Asia.

After water, it is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. Camellia Sinensis, which grows in tropical and subtropical climates, is a flowering evergreen shrub that produces small white flowers; the leaves and buds are ready to be harvested three years after the shrub is planted. Although Camellia Sinensis bushes can live for more than a hundred years (at Makaibari we have 150 years old plants and we are trying to make them immortal.)

The plucked tea leaves at Makaibari are all from the small Camellia Sinensis-Chinois variety.

HOLISTIC FARMING

All farmers are artists and their palette is the earth.

Makaibari has led the charge from the early eighties to pioneer holistic farming to global tea and biodynamic practices to the tropics. Holistic sustainable agricultural practices most importantly bring balance & harmony. Harmony brings peace and its attendant sustainable prosperity.

Situated on the steepest slopes at the foothills of the Himalayan range, Makaibari suffers from poor topsoil. Indeed, every year, during the monsoon season that lasts for about three months (from June to September) most of the top soil gets washed away with the runoff from the slopes. We pride ourselves on having devised one of the most effective ways of preserving and enhancing our topsoil, with a little help from- the forest.

We have developed an advanced mulching system through a six tier permaculture, where the tea grows with grasses, weeds, repellents, leguminous plants, fruit trees and the forest – all helping to replenish and rejuvenate our precious topsoil.

Soil management is core to our sustainability, in this difficult, albeit stunningly beautiful environment.

Yes, we also grow tea, conserve the forest, as we deeply engage in applied research that affects all aspect of our existence at the estate.