About

Leopard Mountain

Before there was tea here, there were leopards. They roamed these hills in great numbers, and the people who lived here called them Billi. When the estate was founded in 1919, it took their name: Billimalai, Leopard Mountain.

Billimalai sits between 6,200 and 6,500 feet in the Nilgiris, part of the Western Ghats. Mist gathers before dawn, and the air stays cool all year. The first bushes here were grown from seed brought from two places: Assam, for strength and body, and China, for finesse and aroma. Together they became the foundation of Nilgiri tea.

The hills are quieter now. The name has stayed. It is why every Avataa pack carries a leopard on its crest.

Why not explore tea differently?

For decades, Billimalai's tea was sold in bulk under other people's names. In 2010, the family asked a simple question: why not explore tea differently?

They travelled to China and other tea regions to study varieties, processing, and how a place becomes a flavour. Then they launched Avataa, a Sanskrit word for fresh, the way mountain air is fresh.

Since then, Billimalai has become a research estate. Clonal cultivation, practised here since 1960, has produced varieties of clones, each with its own flavour, aroma and character. Our white tea, traditionally a short seasonal harvest, is now made year-round. Every leaf is picked by hand.