§1What this business is
On at least an acre of terraced or forest-edge land, the farm grows small-leaf green tea varieties (TV-26, TV-22, Darjeeling-type clones) and herbs such as lemongrass, tulsi, chamomile, mint, hibiscus and rhododendron. Leaves are hand-plucked, dried in solar or electric dryers, cut, moisture-checked, blended and sealed in pouches. Buyers include urban wellness shoppers, yoga retreats, cafés, Ayurvedic pharmacies, online stores and organic export buyers.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A hill landowner or FPO ready to wait 2–3 years and build a brand with tourists and wellness buyers.
Who it is not for
Someone needing income in the first year.
Advantages
- Uttarakhand's hills suit tea and herbs
- Herbal teas have fast-growing wellness demand
- Low processing cost — dryer, cutter, sealer
- Tourism and yoga centres are close-by buyers
Drawbacks
- Tea bushes take time to establish
- Revenue flat for two years in the profile
- Salaries (₹11.40 lakh) are close to year-1 revenue
- Organic certification and branding take years
Skills you need
- Organic tea and herb cultivation
- Drying and blending
- Packaging and branding
- Selling to retreats, cafés and online
Why difficulty 3/5: Long wait for the crop to pay back; needs branding to earn premium prices.
§3Market
Who buys
- Urban wellness consumers and fitness communities
- Yoga retreats, eco-tourists and boutique cafés
- Ayurvedic pharmacies and naturopaths
- Organic-certified export buyers
How it sells
- Organic stores and yoga retreats
- Instagram and online wellness stores
- Export through aggregators
Good to know
- The profile suggests packaging with local art and QR-based origin stories, and a GI or Uttarakhand Organic label.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Small-scale tea dryer (solar or electric) | — | — |
| Herb cutting machine | — | — |
| Moisture analyser | — | — |
| Manual or semi-automatic rolling machine (green tea) | — | — |
| Hand or foot-operated sealing machine | — | — |
| Weighing scales, labelling machine, pluckers, drying racks | — | — |
From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Organic Tea Cultivation (Herbal & Green Tea) in Uttarakhand
- Tea seedlings (TV-26, TV-22, Darjeeling-type clones)small-leaf green tea varieties
- Herbs: lemongrass, tulsi, chamomile, mint, hibiscus, rhododendronfor herbal blends
- Compost and vermicompostmade on the farm
- Kraft paper pouches, aluminium-lined sachets, jute bagspackaging
From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Organic Tea Cultivation (Herbal & Green Tea) in Uttarakhand
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
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
§5Licences & registration
- FSSAI registration or licence for packed tea
- Tea Board registration for growers/manufacturers of Camellia tea
- Organic certification (NPOP or PGS-India)
- Udyam and GST registration
§6Schemes & subsidies
- AIFCentralUnclear3% interest subvention, up to ₹2 crore
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
AIF can fund post-harvest drying and storage; MUDRA up to ₹20 lakh for the processing side. The profile also names NABARD loans and state subsidies.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: DUY profile cost ₹15 lakh: land development and irrigation ₹2.5 lakh, seedlings and inputs ₹1.5 lakh, machinery (dryer, sealer, cutter) ₹3 lakh, processing shed and store ₹3 lakh, packaging and branding ₹2 lakh, working capital for 6 months ₹3 lakh. Finance: own ₹4 lakh, bank/NABARD loan ₹8 lakh, government subsidy ₹3–4 lakh.
Working capital: ₹3 lakh for 6 months.
Year not printed on the DUY profile — check current machinery and material prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: Tea Board of India
- Herbal infusions that contain no Camellia tea fall under other headings; confirm on the DGFT site.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Slow plant establishment
- Moisture spoiling dried leaves
- Competition from big tea brands
- Weather in the hills
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working organic green and herbal tea cultivation unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (FSSAI registration or licence for packed tea, Tea Board registration for growers/manufacturers of Camellia tea), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
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 Organic Green and Herbal Tea Cultivation?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.