The alternative Kathmandu
If this is your second visit to Kathmandu you may be in need of a few thoughts to explore the city further, understand it more, so you don’t just have a quick stay before shooting off to Pokhara, Solu Kumbhu etc. If this is your first visit then we hope to help you get more out of your trip and get out of the mainstream rather than following the hordes every day to Swayambhu, Pashpatinath or Durbar Square.
#4 The Tea Shop
Would you like to go into a shop in Kathmandu and be treated as if you were a local? No inflated price just because you are a foreigner, where the shopkeeper treats you as a valued customer, speaking English, and buying something you actually want?
Then pay a visit to The Himalaya Tea Corner run by my Newari friends Bivek Maharjan and his wife Neeru.
Situated in Dharmapath just a 2min walk away from Basantapur or Durbar Square, Bivek stocks some of the world’s finest teas AND let’s you taste them! When were you last in a shop selling leaf tea (not tea bags!) and you got a brew? Just go to the end of New Road to Basantapur and turn left, the opposite way from #1 in this series.
Teas from Nepal, India and China dominate so you will find different grades of Ilam, Assam, Darjeeling and Puerah as well as leaf differences in black tea, white tea, green tea, silver tips and golden tips. You will also find single estate teas, just like buying wine from a single chateau in France instead of merely a regional wine!
My personal favourites are Dankhuta Nepal Tea and the Golden Tips tea also from Nepal.
The shop also sells many herbal teas and mixtures for various ailments, together with a variety of teapots and cups. Local honey is on sale too.
There will be a stream of local residents buying huge bags of Nepali tea during your visit because Nepal is a BIG tea drinking nation. But Bivek and Neeru are a very friendly couple who will be very glad to see you despite their flow of customers. Just tell them Dr B from the UK sent you and you are assured of an extra warm welcome.
Bivek and Neeru give everyone a free tasting, not just me!
My friend and colleague Ladipma visits the newly extended shop
Some personal favourites
My all time favourite
Categories: Nepal, Travel Tips
The Alternative Kathmandu: The complete Series #1 revisited 
The Two Doctors 
what is your shopping address? Or how can I buy your tea from the Internet?
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My tea? My tea shop? I live in England and this is a shop I visitπ
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Just read this post and found it very useful as I love tea. Will definitely look for the shop and try out your recommendations next time I am in Basantapur (that’s where I spent most of my childhood!). Maybe also have a chat with the shop owners about Dr. B π
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Thank you for you nice reply, I am still drinking through my supply of Golden Tips from them but tell him I have run out of Dhankuta! Iβm sure he will remember me and all of my young female staff I used to bring along, show him my article and give him and his wife my very best wishes π
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Yes, I found it an amazing place for a true tea-enthusiast. Varities of tea is stocked. Their stock includes Fat sculpting tea to stress booster teas. Green, white, golden, black etc. and above all they are so welcoming and nice people. Thank you for recommending me Dr B!
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I don’t think you need fat sculpting tea Ladipma, maybe some exam stress busting tea maybe? ππππ«
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Earl Grey for me!
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Not sure he has it? You not in Poland now or using a VPN?
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Not in Poland, posting retrospectively. In sunny Lincolnshire busy arranging to move house!
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We’re not in Kathmandu either, in Cotswolds trying to keep the wife’s flap o meter at a low level pre San Francisco flight next week!
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