THE ISTORA WAY

Born in Darjeeling, ISTORA began with a simple love for green tea and a belief that people deserve to know where their tea comes from.

At ISTORA, we bring you organic whole leaf tea, grown with care, crafted with precision, and sourced with complete transparency. We aim to offer a healthier and more informed tea experience.

TEA AS YOU KNOW IT

The tea most people drink today has become increasingly commoditized. It is mass-produced, over-processed and stripped of its origin.

What ends up in your cup is often tea fannings or tea dust sourced through middlemen and auctions, blended for consistency, and sealed in tea bags that reveal little about where it comes from or how it was made.

Without access to information on origin, quality, cultivar, or processing, it becomes difficult to make better, healthier choices. In the end, you are left uninformed, drinking tea that has lost both its character and its inherent benefits.

TEA AS IT SHOULD BE

Great Tea Begins at the Source

We work directly at origin in Darjeeling, where altitude, soil, and climate shape every leaf. Grown at a high elevation of 1,500 meters, the leaves are sourced directly from a 19th-century, award-winning organic tea estate in Darjeeling, Arya Tea Estate.

This direct relationship ensures traceability and quality in every cup.

Crafted, Not Manufactured

From plucking to processing, every step is intentional.

We focus on crafting estate-fresh teas using only premium quality whole leaves traditionally reserved for export. Using traditional methods, and minimal interference, we allow the tea’s natural character to emerge.

Transparency Over Tradition

Tea has been consumed for centuries, yet very little is explained.

We believe knowing your tea, where it comes from, how it is made, and what goes into it, is essential. That is why we make an effort to share this information, so you can understand what you are drinking.

THE ESTATE

Arya Tea Estate, Darjeeling

Planted in 1885 by Buddhist monks, Arya Tea Estate is one of Darjeeling’s most respected organic tea gardens and among the few with an indigenous, non-British origin.

Situated at an elevation of around 1,500 meters in the Himalayan foothills, the estate produces distinctive whole-leaf teas shaped by its high-altitude terroir and organic cultivation practices. Its award-winning teas are appreciated by connoisseurs worldwide, with a large portion exported internationally.

Visit us

Visitors are welcome to experience the estate firsthand and understand how their tea is grown, harvested, and crafted at source. For visits, please reach out to us at care@istoratea.com.

The Meaning of ISTORA

ISTORA comes from Istoria, the Greek word for history. It honors the rich legacy of our family’s heritage tea estate in Darjeeling, where original tea bushes were planted by Buddhist monks in 1885.

BEYOND THE CUP

BEYOND THE CUP

Over the years, the estate’s legacy has been shaped not only by its history, but also by generations of women whose labour, care and skill have brought life to each harvest.

Today, 1% of all ISTORA proceeds support women in marginalized communities, a cause we feel closely connected to.

Rooted in heritage and crafted with intention, ISTORA is green tea made with purpose, from one tea lover to another.