Meet Swikriti, the person behind Darjeeling Cup
“Darjeeling” has always meant more than just tea to me; it’s a place I call home.
Long before I understood the global fame of Darjeeling, I experienced it through the smell of woodsmoke drifting from neighbors’ bonfires on cold winter nights, the sticky sweetness of suntala (mandarins) from my aunt's garden, and the simple ritual of drying my hair in the pale winter sun.
I knew Darjeeling was famous for its tea, but it is ironic that my true education in Darjeeling tea began thousands of miles away, in the tea houses of Germany.
I had come to appreciate Taiwanese oolongs introduced to me by a dear friend, and found myself wandering into specialty tea shops whenever I could.
But everywhere I went, I kept running into massive crates stamped with a familiar name: DARJEELING. At first, it was just pride —a small thrill at seeing my home recognized in places so far from it. But over time, something else crept in. I began to notice what was missing.
When people talked about other teas, they spoke of specific makers and generations of technique. When they talked about Darjeeling, they spoke of estates and regions, rarely the people.
The tea was famous, but faceless. I found myself wondering: Do these people know Darjeeling is a real place? That it has a history, a culture, a life that extends far beyond what ends up in their cups? The more I saw the name without the place, the more I felt a responsibility forming. If no one here knew the Darjeeling I knew, maybe I could be the one to show them.
For generations, Darjeeling tea has been shaped by large estates, often managed from afar, while the people closest to the land remained behind the scenes.
Today, that's beginning to change. Independent makers like Yankhu are taking ownership of their craft, working in micro-batches, experimenting with techniques, shaping a future that feels more personal and more their own.
When you drink from Darjeeling Cup, you're not just buying tea. You are seeing these hills as I do, through the people whose
stories are finally being heard. By choosing these micro-batches, you are supporting local ownership and a long-overdue shift in who gets to tell the story of Darjeeling.