The Bir Tea Factory is a cooperative tea-processing facility in the lower village, surrounded by the tea gardens that climb the lower Dhauladhar slopes. Tea has been grown in the Kangra valley since the British introduced it in the 1840s, and Kangra tea — lighter and more aromatic than Darjeeling — remains a local speciality that rarely makes it to export markets. The factory offers informal tours during processing hours, showing the withering, rolling, oxidation, and drying stages that turn fresh leaf into the loose-leaf tea sold in local shops.
The best time to visit is during the spring and autumn flush seasons, when the processing is at full pace and the smell of fresh leaf fills the building. After the tour, buy a small bag of Kangra first-flush directly from the factory; it is considerably cheaper than the same tea in tourist shops elsewhere. The gardens around the factory make for a gentle afternoon walk — the rows of tea bushes climbing toward the pine line above are photogenic in any season.