§1What this business is

Fresh tea shoots are withered, heated or steamed to stop oxidation (which keeps the leaf green), rolled, dried, sorted and packed. Unlike black tea there is no fermentation. The unit must sit close to tea gardens because fresh leaf spoils quickly. Buyers are tea shops, supermarkets, online shoppers and wellness brands.

Capacity: Not printed in kg; year 1 at 55% of capacity with sales of ₹86.13 L, rising to 75% in year 5.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A small tea grower, grower group or someone in a tea district (Assam, Darjeeling, Nilgiris, Kangra, Uttarakhand) with a brand plan.

Who it is not for

Someone far from tea gardens.

Advantages

  • Green tea demand is growing with health awareness
  • Small space (800–1,000 sq ft)
  • Simple line: steamer, roller, dryer, grader, packer
  • Own brand can earn better prices

Drawbacks

  • Only works close to tea gardens
  • Leaf quality decides tea quality
  • Big tea brands dominate shelves
  • Wages are a large cost (₹11.52 L in year 1)

Skills you need

  • Tea leaf plucking standards
  • Steaming, rolling and drying control
  • Tasting and grading
  • Branding and online selling

Why difficulty 3/5: Needs a good leaf source and a brand to sell above commodity prices.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Tea shops and supermarkets
  • Online shoppers
  • Hotels and wellness brands

How it sells

  • Own brand in retail and online
  • Bulk sale to packers and blenders
  • Tea auctions and private sale

Good to know

  • Year-1 sales in the report: ₹86.13 L at 55% capacity.
  • Machinery costs are not itemised in the report — get supplier quotes.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Tea steamer——
Tea roller——
Dryer machine——
Grading machine——
Packaging machine——

From: UP MSME 1-Connect project profile — Green Tea Processing Unit (2024)

  • Fresh green tea leavesthe bud and 2–3 leaves are plucked (report)
  • Packaging material

From: UP MSME 1-Connect project profile — Green Tea Processing Unit (2024)

Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar

Dhemechi Organic Green Tea Cluster · Dibrugarh →Naharbari Tea Cluster · Sonitpur →Rampur Tea Cluster · Tinsukia →Quality Control Laboratory, Tea Board India, Siliguri · Siliguri →TLABS, Tea Research Association, Kolkata · Kolkata →Tlabs, Tea Research Association, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat · Jorhat →

In our raw material database

Tea (green leaf and made tea) →

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence (report)
  2. Udyam (report)
  3. GST (report)
  4. Registration with the Tea Board of India as a tea manufacturer
  5. Legal Metrology registration for packed goods

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMFME supports micro food-processing units; ₹24.87 L also fits PMEGP and CGTMSE; Stand-Up India for SC/ST and women founders.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Report cost of project ₹24.87 L: plant & machinery ₹16.00 L, furniture ₹0.70 L, miscellaneous assets ₹1.50 L, working capital ₹6.67 L; premises rented. Finance: own ₹2.49 L, term loan ₹16.38 L, bank working capital ₹6.00 L.

Working capital: Working capital ₹6.67 L, of which bank finance ₹6.00 L.

Report 2024.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export

0902Tea, whether or not flavoured (green tea has its own sub-headings)

Export council / board: Tea Board of India

  • Tea exporters register with the Tea Board; check the 8-digit code for green tea in the DGFT ITC-HS list.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Poor or uneven leaf supply
  • Weather hitting plucking
  • Brand competition
  • Moisture spoiling stock

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working green tea processing unit unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (FSSAI licence (report), Udyam (report)), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

Not verified yet

Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start Green Tea Processing Unit?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. UP MSME 1-Connect project profile — Green Tea Processing Unit (2024)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.