Nepál Jun Chiyabari Himalayan Royal Ruby

Beautifully processed, regularly rolled dark brown leaves with a sweet, spicy aroma and notes of dried fruit and honey. The golden brown infusion is creamy smooth, richly structured, and intense in flavor with a colorful palette of sweet fruit tones, heavier exotic flowers, and a beautifully colored muscatel in the finish.

How to brew Himalayan Royal Ruby

Use 5 grams of tea leaves for 0.5 litre of boiling water cooled to 85-90 °C, steep for 2–3 minutes. Feel free to experiment with steeping time, water temperature, and the amount of tea leaves. You can also read our articles on tea preparation and water quality.

More information about tea

Terroir: Mid Himalayan range and with two major snow fed rivers to both sides of the hills around which Jun Chiyabari is located. There are five 8000 metre mountains within 100 km to the north of the tea garden and steamy lowlands of 150 metres just 30 km to the south of the tea garden in the inter-climatic convergence zone leading to both sunny and misty conditions throughout the day.

Meteorological Context: The meteorological context of winter of 2024-25 and leading to the harvest of this tea is fairly unique. Rain in November (2024) is so unusual that it has to be mentioned. This was followed by a fairly mild winter and a complete absence of rain till the first plucking in late March (2025). Sporadic spring rains did alleviate the plant stress and the situation with moisture in the ground though not sufficiently enough.    

Area: Ramche and Nigale

Elevation: 1550-1810 m

Cultivar: Japan cultivars & variety and China variety seedlings

Harvest date: June 2025

About Jun Chiyabarai

Location

The tea garden in the eastern Himalayan region of Nepal is located in the hills around Hile in the Dhankuta district. This is North 27o 01' East 087o 19'. The garden spreads within an elevation of 1600 - 2000 meters above sea level. This area is about 200 km east of Kathmandu; 55 km west of Ilam in Nepal and 65 km west of Darjeeling, India.

Cultivars/plants

In the tea garden itself, different quality tea cultivars were brought from Nepal and Darjeeling, and as far away as Taiwan and Japan, and planted out.
From Nepal came plants (cuttings and seeds) from the original seed plants given by the Qing Emperors (1850s-1860s) to Nepal’s rulers. Locally available plants from the Nepal Tea Board, like AV2, were also planted.
From Darjeeling, they got cultivars like T1, T7,8 and Phoobshering 312, and many others. Also, valuable cuttings and seeds from China seed plants were obtained through friends and well-wishers.
From Japan, common varieties like Yabukita and some unique tea plants growing wild in the forests in Miyazaki Prefecture were planted. From Taiwan, plants like Si Ji Chun and Chin Sin Oolong from Dong Ding in Nantou were brought and planted.
Very few tea gardens in the region have the type of tea plants as those in Jun Chiyabari. Perhaps this diversity, combined with the soil and climate, not to speak of the skills of the tea master, is what gives the teas a special character.

Manufacturing Season

The manufacturing season starts in March and continues until November. As is with the region, there are four harvest seasons: First, Second, Monsoon & Autumn Flush. The start and end of each Flush are totally climate-dependent.