That man is Nirmal Sethia, founder and owner of Newby Tea (UK) Ltd. When his wife, Chitra Devi Sethia, died in November 2010, he began to fill the emptiness in his life by hunting for important tea antiques. By scouring the international antiques market and searching online through auctions and sales, he has acquired more than 1,700 pieces. As a tribute to his wife, he has named his tea treasures The Chitra Collection.
Born in Kolkata, India, Nirmal Sethia grew up in London and developed his passion for tea when he was just a teenager. He had no ambitions to continue his studies at school and, after a chance meeting with a tea supplier on a London street, decided instead to train as a tea taster. He then took a job with a large Irish tea company, was sent to India to buy their Darjeeling and Assam teas, and while there, purchased a small tea garden in Assam, which he still owns. However, when his father passed away, Sethia gave up his work in tea and took over the running of the family jute business. It was not until 2000 that he decided to set up a tea company in London. When the business struggled in the first few years, it was his wife who told him, “If anyone can make it work, you can.”
