Kathmandu -The European Speciality Tea Association in March elected Nishchal Banskota, a Nepali business owner based in the USA as one of their newest board members. The European Speciality Tea Association is a non-profit organization headquartered in the UK. Their mission is to create and inspire excellence in the specialty tea community through innovation, research, education and communication.

The European Speciality Tea Association (ESTA) values the science and art of tea making at every level. They value the skill, dedication and care applied to create delicate and unique hand-crafted teas which can be categorized as specialty tea. The European Speciality Tea Association facilitates connections between professionals from tea gardens to specialists along the tea value chain. Banskota, founder of Nepal Tea Collective, an immigrant owned business based in America, has been putting Nepali orthodox specialty teas in the global map since 2016.

Banskota is a second-generation Nepali tea producer and has been working hard to promote Nepali tea while empowering farmers in the eastern hills of Nepal especially in the Panchthar and Illam regions. Currently Nepal Tea Collective has been working closely with four small household farms based in Province 1 i.e. Kanchanjangha Tea Estate and Research Center, Jasbire Tea Factory, La Mandala Specialty Tea and Baraha Tea Factory.

During the pandemic, Nepal Tea Collective has been inviting its global consumers to connect with the local tea producers. Nishchal joined the European Speciality Tea Association along with global tea experts like Nigel Melican ,Sharyn Johnston, Alexis Kaae, Bernadine Tay and David Veal. He is one of the newest additions to the board along with Gundega Silniece who is currently head of Latvia Tea Association, running tea wholesale (direct tea import from Asia), 2 tearooms and Tea and coffee studio in Riga. “I am delighted that Nishchal Banskota has been elected to the board of European Speciality Tea association, not only because of the enthusiasm, experience and innovation that he will bring but also because he will bring a US perspective and more importantly a producer’s perspective, especially with his family ties and business in Nepal.

I am excited by the prospect of working with him on the board and also on various projects.” David Veal, the executive director of ESTA stated in regards to Baskota’s addition as the Board of Directors. Baskota’s role as a board of director in the European Speciality Tea Association entails empowering producers with the knowledge and know-hows to market their teas globally and also to strengthen the relationship of tea producing countries to the European and other western countries.

His priority will remain to improve and innovate the supply chain along with a strong focus on sustainability. He intends to bring in a fresh blend of passion and energy to the organization and help steer it towards its success. He brings valuable knowledge from two perspectives (as a producer in Nepal and as an importer in the US) that can contribute towards solving the current challenges in the tea industry and help ESTA to strengthen its mission.

Nishchal’s Nepal Tea Collective, a public benefit corporation, is currently on its way to transform a 150 year old tea industry. They’re welcoming customers to co-own their company and springboard its journey to shape the identity of Nepali teas. We will have more information on the equity crowdfunding on our website on May 1st.