S’yuo Cha: A Sikkim-Based Tea Brand Giving Their Blends Distinct Personalities

Born in the foothills of the Himalayas, S’yuo Cha is a movement to reimagine how India experiences tea. From blending and packaging to storytelling and lifestyle, the brand is carving a new identity for one of the country’s most cherished drinks. For co-founders Vedant and Shaswat, the story of S’yuo Cha began long before the pandemic. Childhood friends from Sikkim, tea was always part of their lives. “We’re tea enthusiasts. We come from Sikkim where tea is a very important part of our culture. During lockdown, we realised that tea is something very special to Sikkim but nobody from Sikkim is actually taking it to the global masses, and nobody is representing Sikkim in the industry,” Shaswat tells me.

This cultural backdrop is central to their ethos. “Even if you look at these big tea brands, most of the owners or founders come from outside. But what we want to do is create more local employment. Instead of processing it entirely outside, we want to process everything in Sikkim,” he adds.

The journey started modestly with a café in Gangtok. “The café's name, S’yuo Cha, is a Tibetan word that means serving tea with purpose. In our café, we started pairing Japanese food with different kinds of teas. We started getting a lot of good feedback on how good the tea blends were,” he says. Encouraged by demand on Instagram and offline orders, the duo relaunched two months ago with a fresh vision: teas with personalities.

“In a very saturated industry, we realised two problems. Firstly, tea has been there for centuries but it’s conventionally known as something boring. We decided to change that. We started making teas based on personalities,” Shaswat explains. These personas are designed to resonate with moods, lifestyles, and wellness goals. “Instead of teas, what we’ve done is we’ve created identities."

Each blend is crafted for purpose. “Some teas give you energy, some help you focus, some relax you. People aren't aware of these effects. To change that, we decided to create a personalised experience,” Shaswat notes. The ingredients are sourced from across the Northeast before being blended into distinctive flavours.

Looking ahead, the brand is building towards two parallel goals: scaling up while staying rooted. They're developing a Sikkim Classical Collection highlighting indigenous ingredients like rhododendron, goji berries, and seabuckthorn. And innovation is never far: from their vanilla matcha blend to plans of introducing new personas every few months, S’yuo Cha keeps evolving. By tying together premium sourcing, local employment, wellness-driven innovation, and sharp storytelling, S’yuo Cha is charting a new path for Indian tea culture. As Shaswat puts it: “The idea is to ingrain tea in your daily life.”

If you enjoyed reading this, here’s more from Homegrown:

Algae, Glass, & Bioleather: Inside Devanshi Jain’s Radical 'Neo-Luxury' Design Practice

Mookuthi’s Nose Ornaments Are Love Letters To Tamil Culture And Personal Histories

Madhu Kumari’s Graduate Collection Depicts A Personal Journey of Self-Liberation