Tête-à-tête with the tea'preneur

It might be your ritual every morning or evening, but for some it can be their ultimate indulgence. A tête-a-tête with Bengaluru’s teapreneur Kaushal Dugar, founder & CEO, Teabox who makes inventive with infusions, without faulting the classic options, is filled with interesting tea tales as he shares how all teas (black/white/green/oolong) comes from the same plant camellia sinesis.

Also, Kaushal states that a lot of people don’t know that just like fruits and vegetables, teas need to be fresh to get the full flavour. If a tea is not stored well, it loses its freshness and quality.

Ask the 31-year old entrepreneur, who confesses to be a modern history buff, loves running and has completed two full marathons, about his innovations and he states with a twinkle in his eyes, “The teas are sourced from the best tea gardens in Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri, Kangra, Sikkim and Nepal. Tea samples are evaluated by expert tea tasting team and only those that match stringent standards are listed on the website and regardless of the location around the world, buyers receive their tea packs within three-five days. As per innovation, we use a natural nitrogen flush in beverages; a technique most commonly used in packaging food items. This innovative approach creates a non-reactive environment that protects the TeaPac from elements that compromise the integrity of the tea causing loss of flavour.”

Kaushal adds on his personal favourite flavours, “Darjeeling first flush white teas are exquisite in taste and character, very aromatic and flavourful. Also, I love jasmine green and assam masala chai blends made of natural ingredients.”

In his quest to bring great tea into the everyday life and provide tea lovers across the globe an easy access to the freshest tea, Kaushal, a tea enthusiast and passionate entrepreneur, quit his corporate job at KPMG. Already rated as the hottest start-ups in the food and tech category by New York Times, his teas are plucked, processed and packaged within one week using a cold chain process, ensuring the freshness.

Kaushal shares of his journey, “After highschool in Siliguri, I won a scholarship to study Business at the Singapore Management University. After KPMG, I returned to Siliguri (heart of tea growing region) and decided to work for my elder brother who runs a tea export business that exposed me to another side, as the infrastructure to take the teas from gardens to the consumer was dated. I saw an opportunity for change. It was challenging as we were trying to disrupt in an industry which has hardly changed in the last 200 years.”

Some of the new flavours include Oolong Tea, Nilgiri White Tea, Kashmiri Kahwa, Organic Green Tea, Mint Jubilee, Morning Dew, Mountain Rose, Earl Grey, Chamomlle  Roy, Darjeeling Muscatel, Assam Black Tea, Organic Breakfast,  Fresh Assam Masala Chai, Darjeeling Masala Chai and more.