Read about "Raj, the tea-man" (#113) and as he says surely Nepal has a lot to offer tea lovers around the world. Uzbekistan is one such chai loving country. It's what they serve the first thing you go anywhere... a cafe, a home, an office. The bazars and supermarkets are full of tea, but mostly from Sri Lanka sold as Ceylon tea, and some from India. Always wish one could find Assam tea in their midst. My Uzbek friends love the "Nepali" tea I prepare brewed with milk. The market in this tea-thirsty nation is immense. It's all a question of marketing, developing taste, adding exotica and building a brand for Nepali chia.

Rupa Joshi, Tashkent,
Uzbekistan

. As a tea drinker and a close observer of the tea industry in Nepal, I was saddened to read your article on Raju the tea man. It is quite obvious that you haven't done your homework, or was the intent just to give publicity to friends? The only truth in the article is that the Nepal tea industry does indeed have the potential and could make high quality teas comparable to Darjeeling. Like the "vintage Darjeeling second flushes with bloom" famous all over the world, Nepal too has the potential. And it also has its tea experts, write about them as well.

Eizo San,
by email