Last Updated: April 2026

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Teas of Darjeeling (teasofdarjeeling.com). We are the Guardians of the Brew — a knowledge hub dedicated to preserving and sharing the story of Darjeeling tea. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling any personal information you share with us responsibly.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and what rights you have over it. Please read it carefully. By using our website, you agree to the practices described here.

If you have any questions about this policy, you can reach us at: General Inquiries: info@teasofdarjeeling.com Support: support@teasofdarjeeling.com

1. WHO WE ARE

Teas of Darjeeling operates teasofdarjeeling.com — a non-commercial, independent knowledge platform dedicated to Darjeeling tea. We are not a marketplace. We do not sell tea. Our mission is education, transparency, and the preservation of Darjeeling tea heritage.

We are based in Siliguri, West Bengal, India.

2. WHAT INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect two types of information: information you provide to us voluntarily, and information collected automatically when you use our website.

2a. Information You Provide

Newsletter Signup: When you subscribe to our newsletter or Flush Season Tracker alerts, we collect your email address and, optionally, your name.

Contact Form: When you use our contact form or send us an email, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message.

Comments and Contributions: If you submit tasting notes, comments, or community contributions to our platform, we collect the information you choose to share.

We do not require you to create an account to access our content. All knowledge resources on this site are freely available without registration.

2b. Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, certain information is collected automatically through cookies and standard web analytics tools. This includes:

— Your IP address (anonymised where possible) — Browser type and version — Device type (desktop, mobile, tablet) — Pages visited and time spent on each page — Referring website or search query that brought you to us — General geographic location (country or city level)

This data is collected in aggregate and is used solely to understand how our content is being used so we can improve it. We do not use it to identify individual visitors.

3. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use the information we collect for the following purposes only:

— To send you newsletters, flush season alerts, and content updates that you have explicitly subscribed to. — To respond to your enquiries, feedback, or media requests sent via our contact form or email. — To understand how visitors use our website so we can improve content, navigation, and user experience. — To protect the technical security and integrity of our website.

We do not sell your data. We do not share your data with advertisers. We do not use your data for commercial profiling.

4. LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Union or the United Kingdom, we process your personal data on the following legal bases:

Consent: Where you have actively opted in — for example, by subscribing to our newsletter. You may withdraw consent at any time.

Legitimate Interests: For analytics and website improvement, where our interest in providing a better knowledge resource does not override your privacy rights.

Legal Obligation: Where we are required by law to retain or disclose certain information.

5. COOKIES

Our website uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — to improve your experience and help us understand how our content is being used.

Essential Cookies: These are necessary for the website to function correctly. They cannot be disabled.

Analytics Cookies: We use analytics tools (such as Google Analytics with IP anonymisation enabled) to understand general visitor behaviour. These are not used to identify you personally. You may opt out of analytics tracking at any time using the cookie preference settings on our site or by using your browser’s privacy controls.

No Advertising Cookies: We do not use advertising networks, retargeting pixels, or any third-party tracking tools for commercial purposes.

You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings at any time. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect how some parts of our website function.

6. THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

To operate our website effectively, we use a small number of trusted third-party services. These services may process limited data on our behalf:

— Google Analytics (website traffic analysis) — governed by Google’s Privacy Policy — Mailchimp or equivalent email platform (newsletter delivery) — governed by their respective Privacy Policy — WordPress (content management system) — Web hosting provider (server infrastructure)

We select third-party providers carefully and require that they maintain adequate data protection standards. We do not authorise them to use your data for their own purposes beyond providing services to us.

We do not embed social media tracking pixels or advertising scripts from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, or any other platform.

7. DATA RETENTION

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected:

— Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe. Upon unsubscription, your email address is removed from active mailing lists within 30 days. — Contact form submissions are retained for up to 12 months to manage ongoing correspondence. — Anonymised analytics data may be retained for up to 26 months for trend analysis.

You may request deletion of your data at any time by contacting us at info@teasofdarjeeling.com.

8. YOUR RIGHTS

Depending on where you are located, you may have some or all of the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right to Access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Right to Correction: You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.

Right to Deletion: You may ask us to delete your personal data, subject to any legal obligations we may have to retain it.

Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on your consent (such as newsletter subscription), you may withdraw that consent at any time without penalty.

Right to Object: You may object to certain types of processing, including analytics.

Right to Data Portability: Where applicable, you may request that your data be provided to you in a commonly used, machine-readable format.

Right to Complain: If you are in the EU or UK and believe your data has been handled unlawfully, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (e.g., the ICO in the UK, or your national supervisory authority in the EU).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at: info@teasofdarjeeling.com

We will respond to all verified requests within 30 days.

9. CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

Teas of Darjeeling is a knowledge resource intended for general audiences. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If you believe a child has submitted personal information to us, please contact us at info@teasofdarjeeling.com and we will delete it promptly.

10. LINKS TO EXTERNAL WEBSITES

Our content may include links to external websites, academic papers, estate websites, or industry resources for reference and further reading. These external sites operate independently and are governed by their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of any third-party website.

11. DATA SECURITY

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. These include encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls, and regular security reviews.

However, no method of data transmission over the internet is completely secure. While we do our best to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we do, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify newsletter subscribers by email.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of our website after any changes constitutes your acknowledgement of the updated policy.

13. CONTACT US

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or the way we handle your data, please contact us:

General Enquiries: info@teasofdarjeeling.com Support & Data Requests: support@teasofdarjeeling.com

Teas of Darjeeling teasofdarjeeling.com Siliguri, West Bengal, India