Privacy Policy

We collect only the information necessary to provide you with a premium tea experience. The categories of information we collect include:

We do not collect sensitive personal data such as government ID numbers, biometrics, health data, or financial account credentials.

When you subscribe to our newsletter — "Tea Wisdom, Directly to You" — we collect your email address solely for the purposes listed below:

• Seasonal harvest alerts (First Flush, Second Flush, Autumn Flush)
• Artisan brewing tips and tea education content
• Exclusive member-only discount offers and early access to new products
• New product launches and limited-edition releases from Sittong
• Company news and updates about Monk Sera Tea

We do not share newsletter subscriber data with third-party marketers. Your email is your trust — we treat it as such.

When you place an order on our website, we collect the following information to fulfil your purchase:

• Full name and contact number for delivery coordination
• Delivery address (including PIN code and state)
• Email address for order confirmation, tracking updates, and invoice
• Products ordered, quantities, and any special instructions
• Order status and fulfilment timeline

This data is used exclusively to process, pack, and deliver your tea order. We may contact you via phone or WhatsApp for delivery coordination in remote Himalayan or rural locations. Your order data may be retained for up to 3 years for accounting, dispute resolution, and customer service purposes.

Our website uses cookies — small text files stored in your browser — to enhance your browsing experience and help us understand how you interact with our site.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may prevent the shopping cart and checkout from functioning correctly.

Monk Sera Tea uses PCI-DSS compliant third-party payment gateways to process all transactions. We do not store, transmit, or have access to your full credit/debit card number, CVV, or banking credentials.

• All payment pages are served over HTTPS with SSL encryption
• We only receive a transaction reference number and payment status confirmation
• UPI, net banking, cards, and wallets are processed by our payment partner's secure infrastructure
• For Razorpay, PayU, or other gateways we use — please refer to their respective privacy policies for how they handle payment data

The address and contact information you provide at checkout is shared with our logistics and courier partners strictly for the purpose of delivering your order. This may include:

• Name, phone number, and delivery address shared with courier companies (e.g., India Post, Shiprocket, Delhivery, or similar)
• Order tracking data passed to third-party tracking portals
• SMS or WhatsApp delivery notifications sent by our courier partner on our behalf

We do not permit our logistics partners to use your personal data for any purpose other than delivery fulfilment. Shipping data is retained in our system for up to 1 year to handle potential disputes, lost shipments, or re-delivery requests.

Our website integrates the following third-party services, each governed by their own privacy policies:

• Google Analytics: Tracks website usage anonymously. Opt-out available via Google's browser add-on.
• Google Login: If you choose "Continue with Google", Google authenticates your identity. We receive only your name and email address from Google.
• WhatsApp: When you initiate a chat with us via WhatsApp, Meta's privacy policy governs that communication.
• Social Media: Our Instagram and LinkedIn links direct you to external platforms; their policies apply independently.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party services. We encourage you to review their individual policies.

We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement the following measures:

• SSL/TLS Encryption: All data transmitted between your browser and our server is encrypted
• Secure Hosting: Our website is hosted on a reputable cPanel-based server with firewalls and regular security audits
• Password Hashing: Customer passwords are stored using industry-standard one-way cryptographic hashing (never in plain text)
• Access Controls: Only authorised Monk Sera Tea personnel with a legitimate business need can access customer data
• Regular Backups: Customer and order data is backed up regularly to prevent accidental loss

Despite these measures, no internet transmission is 100% secure. In the unlikely event of a data breach affecting your rights and freedoms, we will notify you in accordance with applicable Indian data protection law.

Under Indian data protection principles and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

• Right to Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Right to Portability: Receive your data in a structured, commonly used format
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for marketing communications or data processing at any time
• Right to Grievance Redressal: Lodge a complaint with our designated Grievance Officer (see Section 13)

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to serve the purpose for which it was collected:

• Order & Transaction Data: Up to 3 years (accounting and legal compliance)
• Customer Account Data: Until account deletion is requested
• Newsletter Subscriber Email: Until unsubscribed
• Contact Form Enquiries: Up to 1 year after resolution
• Analytics Data (anonymised): Up to 26 months (Google Analytics default)
• Server Logs: Up to 90 days for security monitoring

Upon expiry of the retention period, data is securely deleted or anonymised.

Our website and products are not directed at persons under the age of 18 years. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately at info@monkseradarjeelingtea.com and we will delete the data promptly.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or business operations. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
• Send a notification to newsletter subscribers where the change significantly affects them
• Display a prominent notice on our homepage for 30 days following a significant change

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

For any privacy-related concerns, data requests, or to reach our designated Grievance Officer as required under Indian law, please use the following details:

Our website features an AI-powered shopping assistant (the "Monk Sera Concierge" / "Shop with AI") that helps you discover teas, view offers, manage your cart, and track orders through conversation.

When you use the assistant, the following applies:

• Fully Self-Hosted: The assistant runs entirely on Monk Sera Tea's own servers. Your conversations are never sent to any third-party AI provider (such as OpenAI, Google, or similar services).
• What We Process: Your chat messages, a session identifier, and — if you are logged in — your customer account ID, so the assistant can answer questions about your own cart and orders.
• Why: To answer your queries, apply eligible offers you request, and improve the assistant's answers (for example, learning which searches found no results).
• Retention: Conversation logs are kept for a limited period for quality and analytics, after which they are routinely deleted.
• No Automated Decisions with Legal Effect: The assistant only assists with shopping; all purchases are confirmed by you at checkout.
• Your Choice: Using the assistant is entirely optional — every feature it offers is also available through normal website navigation. You may dismiss or ignore it at any time.

For any questions about assistant data, contact our Grievance Officer (see Section 13).