Whether from the hilly highlands of the southern Indian provinces of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the wild nature of the Singampatti garden in the heart of India's 17th tiger reserve, whether from the historic, evergreen subtropical tea region of Laos, the unspoiled north of Vietnam or even the African highlands - in addition to the celebrities from Darjeeling or Assam, small treasures can always be unearthed on the earth's green tea belt between 43° north and 30° south latitude.