OUR STORY
Our Fantastical World...
The inception of Tea Villa all started with the birth of Alexander McGregor, to Lord Alistair and Lady Amelia in the quaint little village of Killin, a picturesque village nestled in the valley, bordered with babbling brooks and verdant fields in the Scottish Highlands. Alexander, or Alex, as he was lovingly known to his family, never took interest in the ways of the world.
At 15, he was shipped out for Calcutta with his father, who had recently been commissioned by the Queen Mother to spearhead the tea trade for the empire. Alex struggled with the weather, the state affairs, the food, the land, the water, the reality. The strapping young lad in just 6 months had halved himself and looked more Indian than a proud Scot. The following year his father, Lord Alistair succumbed to a bout of smallpox. The small fortune he amassed in the past year owing to the monopolistic nature of the trade was now assigned to Alex. He inherited the Lordship, soon donned the heavy hat to emerge as Lord Alexander McGregor.
Next few years he travelled far & wide...
To the various colonies of the empire meeting different people, but still his solitude knew no bounds. When in Calcutta, he would often be found sitting under the mango tree by the banks of the Hooghly river with his back to his grand mansion. This mansion was the scene of revelry and was notorious for being the best venue for social gatherings. Lord Alexander, made it a point to serve the very best Scottish whisky, the best salmon, and the very best handpicked tea. Even amongst all this companionship what he yearned for most was to return back home to his idyllic village of Killin. Alas! He was a long way away from home.
Things took a turn in 1886 when Lord Alexander fell victim to tuberculosis. Doctors advised him to move to the mountains and rest. Back then, widespread belief was that the magical air of the mountains could cure most ailments. So with all his staff, he moved to a rustic little mountain town at the foothills of the grand Himalayas, called Darjeeling. The sight of the mountains, the rolling roads, the meadows, the wild flowers, the brooks, the clouds rolling down; all left him spellbound. It was love at first sight. For the first time in over a decade, Alex was home.
Alex made a miraculous recovery...
Aided by the countless potions, tonics and the mountain air; Alex made a miraculous recovery. He was surprised that over all these years he had been trading in Darjeeling tea but had never visited Darjeeling. His cook, Dorjee Tsherpa, a local hill tribesman would prepare all his meals. Alex noticed that the tea he would drink and the one that his cook would drink were different. On enquiring, he found that tea here was more than just what he had known all his Life. Tea was potion, tea was tonic, it even was considered an aphrodisiac.
Curious by this, he went around gathering information about tea from the local people and diligently jotted it down in his brown leather journal. Soon he bought a 100-acre piece of land to cultivate the finest quality tea. Through the various trade acquaintances he made across the world, he procured the finest tea saplings from Nepal, Ceylon (erstwhile Sri Lanka), Kenya and Indonesia. The tea leaves from the cultivated bushes were then carefully picked and left to oxidize under perfect conditions. He then infused this tea with an artful blend of herbs or fruits that had the power to relieve anxiety, aid sleep and boost the immune system.
Later on, he built a dreamy villa in the estate with white-washed walls that would glisten in the sun, and he lovingly named it Alison Villa, after his beloved daughter. However, over the years, the locals came to simply call it “Tea Villa”. After the demise of Alexander, without a male heir, the business changed hands several times. While renovating the villa, its present owners discovered Alexander’s journal and after pursuing it, they were filled with a passion to implement his ideas of blended teas into creating a global tea brand.
"He found that tea was more than just what he had known all his Life. Tea was potion, tea was tonic."
This was the birth of Tea Villa...
We source our tea from the best tea gardens across the globe and carefully process it to produce varieties of tea, each with a distinctly rich flavor and aroma; creating the ultimate tea drinking experience for lovers of the finer things in life. Through just a sip of our tea, be engulfed in warmth and contentment.
This was the birth of Tea Villa...
We source our tea from the best tea gardens across the globe and carefully process it to produce varieties of tea, each with a distinctly rich flavor and aroma; creating the ultimate tea drinking experience for lovers of the finer things in life. Through just a sip of our tea, be engulfed in warmth and contentment.
