Welcome to the exciting world of HighTea! We are delighted to have you here and eager to share our incredible journey with you. So, sit back and relax, as we take you on a delightful "HighTea" break to get to know us better.
During my travels, I couldn't help but notice the special status of Indian teas among tea connoisseurs worldwide. Indian teas are renowned globally and highly sought after, celebrated for their rich heritage, distinctive flavours, and diverse varieties. However, despite being the second-largest tea producer in the world, India lacked a domestic speciality tea market until the late 1990s. This realisation sparked a passion within us to address this shortcoming, which soon transformed into efforts to provide India's discerning tea drinkers with the speciality teas they truly deserved.
In 1999, the Indo-Sri Lanka trade agreement marked a pivotal moment for us, enabling us to import and distribute a fine selection of speciality Ceylon teas within India. While this was an important milestone, it was only the beginning of our journey. We soon realised that merely importing and distributing Ceylon teas would not do justice to the rich heritage of our own world-renowned Indian teas from Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiris. Recognising this gap inspired us to undertake a mission to blend and curate our own speciality teas. We embraced this challenge with passion and unwavering commitment, dedicated to celebrating and elevating the legacy of Indian teas.
In 2002, we embarked on an exciting journey to blend Indian teas and create our own speciality teas. The following year, we proudly launched our private label, “HighTea,” specifically designed to meet the needs of the foodservice industry, including cafes, hotels, institutions, and corporations. Our commitment to quality and excellence continued to evolve, and in 2011, we achieved a significant milestone by commissioning our state-of-the-art, integrated tea bag manufacturing and packaging facility. This strategic investment empowered us to eliminate our dependence on third-party blenders and packers, giving us complete control over the quality and consistency of our teas.
Since our promising beginnings, HighTea has consistently delivered distinctive cups of tea to the discerning palate by using only 100% natural, premium-quality teas, herbs, and spices, expertly blended to create unique flavours that elevate the art of tea-drinking. Staying true to our core values, which align with our ethos and commitment to quality control, we were among the first in India to introduce 'Staple-less' tea bags in 1999. Since then, all HighTea tea bags have been staple-free. We only use good-quality, environmentally friendly, and sustainable packaging materials, exemplifying our commitment to environmental stewardship, sustainability, and food safety.
We are pleased and delighted to have achieved this significant milestone in our journey, and we are even more excited about the promising future that lies ahead. We are inspired and humbled by your continued trust in our teas, and we truly value your loyalty, patronage, and support as our cherished customers. In today's world, where wellness and good health are paramount concerns, we foresee a rapidly expanding market for speciality and wellness teas. This prospect excites us as we eagerly look forward to curating an exceptional range of wellness teas to enhance your well-being and promote good health.
We trust our website offers everything you need. Please contact us if there's anything we can assist you with. For any concerns or queries, please feel free to reach out to me directly at the email address below. We always welcome new ideas and suggestions from our valued customers, and it is our greatest pleasure to meet and exceed your tea-drinking needs and expectations. Here's to a future filled with delightful tea experiences, and a heartfelt toast to your well-being. Cheers to celebrating the joys of HighTea!
Shoaib Khan
Founder & CEO
shoaib@hightea.in