Around 1863, colonel Gajraj Singh Thapa , son in law of the famous Rana Prime Minister , Jung Bhadur Rana , was on the tour of Darjeeling. He was impressed by the sight of the plantation and the tasty drink he was offered everywhere he went. he was determined to grow tea in his own Ilam, where Mr. Thapa was was the Governal General. His father in law had awarded him the whole district in the form of Birta. Teh colonel set up two plantations the Ilam and the Soktim tea estates, forty-two hectre each and so began Nepal's tea industry. the tea industry in Nepal was largely under the government domain until early nineties. In 1982 , the government declared the five eastern districts of Nepal i.e. Jhapa Ilam, Panchthar , Terathum and Dahnkuta a "Tea - Zone"(except Jhapa all are situated in hill).After the liberization of the economy the private sector began to invest the tea industry.

Over the years, Nepal's tea industry has grown steadily. Today, tea gardens cover more than twelve thousand hectare. Nepal's aromatic tea is becomming more and more popular around the world, and each year hundreds of tones are exported to United States of America, Japan, Canada, Hong-Kong, Germany, U.K., and other European Countries.