Rajiv Lochan, founder of Doke Tea, is a visionary. He is brimming with ideas for tea, the tea industry, the culture surrounding tea and endless possibilities of sharing the richness of tea with the world.

On his Doke Tea Farm, he hosts small groups of students who come from all over world to learn how tea is grown and to have a hands-on experience on a tea farm. This is a total tea immersion experience, just as we might immerse ourselves in a single delicious cup of tea to enjoy its color, its aroma and its layers of flavor. Talking about tea with Rajiv is like being immersed in tea. It’s just as much about philosophy as it is about engineering and agricultural and ecology.

His passion is to continue to explore the origins of tea in China, to experiment with teas in India, to create greater interest for tea in other countries, and to support the development of a tea culture in India that will be one of India’s great cultural gifts to the world.

Vivek grew up in the shadow of the greatest mountain range of the world, the Himalayas. The many cities, towns and villages that comprise the huge foothill areas also include the border of three other independent nations – Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and China if you go out just a bit further.

Today this incredibly beautiful part of the world is where he works, having joined the family Lochan Tea business. Working as Director at Lochan Tea, Vivek manages day to day operations, including customer relations. He gives the business operations a personal touch, which customers and the business public truly appreciate.

Vivek is also interested in photography and spends his off-hours pursuing this interest in and around Siliguri, where he lives. His magnificent photos of the hills and mountains in this enchanted land are testament to his love of the country and his love of adventure.

The middle child in the Lochan family, Neha has taken on a wide variety of duties and she is exploring several developments for Lochan Tea. Born in Darjeeling and educated there, Neha has literally grown up with tea all around her. She is using this to her advantage now to follow in her father’s footsteps to bring the story of tea to a wider audience with more emphasis on the history of tea and to teach those in India about teas in China as well.

On the Doke Tea Farm itself Neha is exploring making new handmade teas for the tea connoisseur. She is especially interested in making a smoked tea and a yellow tea. Doke Tea has already produced Doke Diamond Green, Doke Silver Needle and Doke Rolling Thunder Oolong.

Also on the home front, Neha spends much of her time in more humanitarian efforts to organize much needed schooling for the children on the estate. Her plans are also to start an NGO called Siliguri, The Glory of India, which will help the children in the foothill areas to get an education more easily and to better their day to day living. With the energy of youth and the insight of having grown up in this area, we can expect to see more exciting news from her.