After decades spent in the shadow of their neighbors across the border in Darjeeling, Nepalese tea growers are finally laying out their own stalls in the lucrative global market for premium leaves.
在跨越大吉嶺邊境的鄰國陰影下投入數十年心力後，尼泊爾茶農終於在利潤豐厚的全球頂級茶葉市場打響自己的名號。
Grown at high altitude in lush, emerald gardens among the foothills of the Himalayas, “orthodox” Nepalese teas are now finding their way onto the books of speciality buyers from Europe and the United States. The orthodox method of production oxidizes and prepares teas with a focus on the top-quality, whole leaves and buds that produce a nuanced and slightly fruity flavor and can be used for multiple infusions.
生長在高海拔喜馬拉雅山麓鬱鬱蔥蔥翠綠的茶園中，尼泊爾「正宗」茶葉如今已成功打進歐美專業買家名冊中。依正統生產方法，氧化和準備茶葉時首重頂級品質，整個葉片和花蕾所散發的細膩輕微果香味，可用來反覆泡茶。
It is a niche but profitable market, supplying high-end tea shops and retailers around the world who cater to an affluent, health-conscious clientele. “Nepalese tea is increasingly visible in the western world where the demand for high-quality tea has grown in recent years,” said Dilli Baskota, manager of Kanchanjangha Tea, a garden based in the hills of eastern Nepal. Germany and United States are the primary markets, but Baskota said that buyers from France, Britain, Russia and Canada, as well as consumer giants China and Japan, had recently placed sizeable orders.
這是個利基，也是個利潤豐厚的市場，可提供全球鎖定健康意識抬頭有錢客戶的高檔茶莊及零售業者。總部在尼泊爾東部山丘地的干城章嘉峰茶園經理巴斯科塔說：「尼泊爾茶在西方世界中能見度越來越高，近年來西方世界對優質茶葉的需求日益殷切。」德國和美國是主要市場，但巴斯科塔說，買家來自法國、英國、俄羅斯和加拿大，連消費龍頭中國和日本最近下的訂單也很可觀。
Premium Nepalese teas can fetch prices as high as $85 per kilo on the international market, and according to the National Tea Board production has almost doubled in the past five years to 2.6 million kilos, of which 90 percent is exported. The global market for orthodox teas is currently estimated by the US Tea Association at around 45 million kilos.
極品尼泊爾茶葉在國際市場上每公斤可以叫價85美元（台幣2600元），而據國家茶葉局指出，過去5年產量幾乎倍增達260萬公斤，其中90％出口。美國茶葉協會估計，目前全球正統茶葉市場在4500萬公斤左右。
The hill gardens of eastern Nepal are at an equivalent altitude -- and share a similar climate -- to those just across the Indian border in Darjeeling, which produce some of the world's most sought-after and highest-priced premium black tea. The Darjeeling brand enjoys international renown, but experts say complacency, price-gouging and a low-level but persistent separatist insurgency in the Indian region have given the Nepalese teas a foothold in the market.
尼泊爾東部高山茶園和越過印度邊界的大吉嶺茶園海拔相同，氣候也類似，大吉嶺生產一些世上最搶手、價格最高的優質紅茶。大吉嶺品牌享譽全球，但專家說，驕傲自滿、哄抬價格及水平降低，加上印度地區分裂叛亂活動持續不斷，已經使尼泊爾茶在市場上站穩腳跟。
“Around five years ago, some European buyers became frustrated with the Darjeeling growers, feeling they were using their monopoly on the brand to push prices far too high,” said Vikram Mittal, a New Delhi-based trader in speciality teas. “So they started looking more closely at similar-tasting but cheaper Nepali teas as a sourcing option.”
新德里特種茶交易商米塔爾說：「大約在5年前，歐洲部分買家對大吉嶺茶農心生不滿，老覺得他們仗著品牌壟斷，哄抬價格，於是開始更密切注意味道相去不遠、但價格更便宜的尼泊爾茶葉當替代來源。」
Nepal growers cannot compete with the top-grade Darjeeling premium teas -- such as the “Silver Tip” leaves which are traditionally hand-picked under a full moon and retail at up to $500 a kilo. But their medium-grade orthodox teas are competitive and quality is improving as owners lure Darjeeling planters to manage their gardens.
尼泊爾茶農仍無法和大吉嶺的頂級極品茶葉抗衡，以大吉嶺的「白毫銀針茶」為例，傳統上要在滿月時用手工摘下，每公斤零售價高達500美元（台幣15200萬元）。但他們生產的中檔正宗茶葉則很有競爭力，質量也不斷提高，因為業主重金挖來大吉嶺茶農管理他們的茶園。
“Quite a few have moved to Nepal, where they are given more responsibility and better salaries,” said P.K. Ganguly, a retired Darjeeling grower. “They take with them decades of accumulated expertise in growing and processing and that makes a huge difference quality-wise.”
大吉嶺退休茶農甘古利說：「不少人搬到尼泊爾，在這裡他們扛起更大責任，拿更高薪水。他們帶著累積數十年的種茶和加工經驗，使茶葉質量產生極大的差異。」
Nonetheless, as an impoverished, landlocked country, Nepal poses particular challenges to tea growers who have to struggle with a woeful transport infrastructure, power and labor shortages and a lack of government support. “The government hasn't provided any real incentives,” said garden owner Bachan Gyawali. “Labour shortages and regular strikes enforced by one group or another have, at times, crippled the business.”
儘管如此，尼泊爾是個貧窮內陸國，茶農因此得面對特殊挑戰，他們得和慘不忍睹的交通基礎設施、電力和勞動力短缺及缺乏政府支持抗爭。茶園主人吉亞瓦力說：「政府並未提供任何真正的激勵誘因。勞工短缺加上一個個團體時而定期罷工，削弱了企業體質。」
HIMCOOP has hired a Darjeeling native, John Taylor, to oversee its marketing side, and has created a “Nepal Tea” brand endorsed by the legendary Italian mountaineer, Reinhold Messner. While branding is crucial, Taylor said a long-term effort was also needed to woo major overseas buyers. “Tea is a very personal business. You have to build up a personal relationship with the buyers who often visit the gardens themselves,” he said.
喜馬拉雅茶葉生產合作社聘請大吉嶺當地人泰勒負責監督營銷業務，並打造「尼泊爾茶葉」品牌，再請義大利傳奇登山家梅斯納認證背書。雖然品牌至關重要，泰勒說，還要靠長期努力經營才能吸引海外主要買家。他說：「茶是很個人化的事業，你一定要和本身經常光顧茶園的買家建立個人關係。」
HIMCOOP president Sushil Rijal acknowledged: “There is huge potential for orthodox tea in European countries and North America but, up till now, we haven't been able to market our products that well. Honestly, we are very new in this trade.” Photo shows Nepalese tea-tasters preparing to taste tea in Kathmandu on July 19.
喜馬拉雅茶葉生產合作社總裁里賈爾承認：「正統茶在歐洲各國和北美地區很有潛力，但我們至今仍無法順利推銷我們的產品。說實話，我們在這個行業才剛起步。」圖為尼泊爾品茶師傅今年7月19日在加德滿都正準備品茗。
文與圖／法新社