You can recognise a good Darjeeling by its colour, its fragrance, and flavour. It looks like fine scotch whisky," says Raaj Waiba slurping a mouthful of Darjeeling First Flush and rolling it around his tongue noisily and then swallowing, since this is just a cuppa, not a tea tasting.

Raaj gave up a tea planter's life four years ago and moved to Kathmandu to set up Tea World in Thamel, but still adheres to the lessons he learnt in his sixteen years on plantations in Assam and Darjeeling. The Manufacture of Tea, a manual he's had since he started in tea, remains his bible. "It has everything a planter needs to know, like the exact number of nails a tea case needs," says Raaj. "You can get reprimanded, even fired, if you get that wrong."

Raaj, whose father was also a planter, is today happy to be a retailer, wholesaler and exporter of premium Nepali and Indian teas. First Flush, Kanyam, Ilam, organic, Assam, green tea, and his own blends line the shop. Customers can be very particular. "They'll ask for tea from a specific garden in Darjeeling," says Raaj, who blends his own tea to suit his moods.

When he's not at the shop or guiding clients through a tasting, Raaj helps the 14 gardens in the Himalayan Orthodox Tea Planters Association (HOTPA) conduct workshops for small growers. Hotels like the Hyatt and the Radisson engage Raaj to train their staff to blend and recognise teas, and also prepare for them tea cocktails and tea menus.

Raaj believes tea is the next big thing for Nepal. With the right infrastructure and government support, he says, Nepal could be growing excellent tea comparable to Darjeeling, within fifteen years-as long as Nepali businessmen remember that "tea planting requires consistent and committed care, patience, and money."