Amit Singh’s tryst with tea started in 2016 when he dropped out from his Masters degree in Computers and started a project called Elephant Approved (elephantapproved.net ) with his friend Joy Wujek. He recalls, “She is a master tea blender who has been buying teas from India more than 20 years, not knowing that there is a deadly conflict between humans and wildlife as well as deforestation. We started doing research and found that only consumers can make these plantations do good for the environment and workers. We work with tea plantations to stop human wildlife conflict and ensure no wildlife or human life hurt in the process.”
Amit found that this same principle could be adopted in coffee, spice and herb plantations as well. He shares, “The European , Arab and Russian markets have great potential and people need to know that simple choices can make a big difference. So I started Teas for Wildlife with my friend Ili Cohen in 2021. Our vision was to simply connect with plantations which respect wildlife and are already doing good for nature. We search for herbs and spices which are native to India and have several health benefits.”
The plantation trail
But the journey was not easy. It was difficult to get connected in the tea industry. “Tea, coffee and spice plantations are second homes to wildlife. So, at first we visited the plantations in south India and the North East many times. As these plantations are private, entry is restricted so when we talk about conservation, it is only limited to conserved areas which is less than 5% in India!”
Overcoming these hiccups, today Teas for Wildlife develops products related to different species of animals especially endangered ones. Amit explains, “For example, we buy fennel from farmers of Rajasthan which is home to India’s largest flying bird The Great Indian Bustard. Sadly, only around 90 are left in the wild. So we have a tea named after the Bustard. Similarly, we have Indian masala chai representing The Asiatic Elephant as it has Assam black tea leaves.”
Teas for Wildlife hand blends everything at its blending facility in Nandgaon Haryana. “We built this place during Covid using all ACC blocks. The place runs 100% on solar energy as we designed the sloping roof, making it easier to get lots of natural light. All the windows have been made with recycled metal. Amit adds, “We will also be installing geothermal heating and cooling so there will be no need for air conditioners. We have planted more than 200 trees around the facility. We also use fully recyclable packaging; we will be looking forward to making it plastic free by next year. For packing we use kraft paper, and instead of bubble wraps we use beehive shaped paper which helps to protect the tea from breaking. We only have loose leaf teas, so no tea bags are used. We have also designed an elephant shaped brass tea infuser to give the best tea experience to our customers,” he informs.
Teas for Wildlife has a wide product range of flavoured teas such as Rose black tea, Lakadong turmeric ashwagandha tea, Jasmine green tea, Hibiscus lemongrass tea , Indian masala chai, Black, Green hand rolled tea, wild Robusta, Arabica coffee and loose spice for now.
As for future footprint, Amit says, “We want to concentrate on the conservation of wild species which are endangered. We are working on a book to spread awareness of wildlife among kids of the workers in these plantations, majority of whom are women.”
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