History of Tea in India
HISTORY OF TEA IN INDIA
India is the second-largest producer of tea in the world, with a production of more than 9 lakh tonnes per year. The first tea garden in India was established in the year 1837 at Chabua, Upper Assam where tea was traditionally brewed by the Singhpo tribe of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. The Assam Tea Company began the first commercial production of tea in the year 1840.
Tea was considered a high-status drink in its initial years but as the prices fell, it gradually became a popular drink among the working class too. By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, big brands such as Lyons, Lipton, and Mazawattee became some of the major players in the tea market.
HOW DID TEA COME TO INDIA
Although Camellia sinensis – a species of plant whose leaves and leaf buds are used to make tea, is native to India, it is believed that silk caravans that traveled from China to Europe brought the tradition of tea to India. Natives made use of its leaves mainly for medicinal uses and also used in cooking.
It was a long time before it changed itself into what’s now popular as chai, which is a flavorous form of black tea sweetened by adding milk and sugar along with spices such as ginger or cardamom.
WHO DISCOVERED TEA IN INDIA
The origin of tea in India dates back to the British era when it was formally introduced in India intending to compete with China’s monopoly on tea. They found the Indian soil highly suitable for the cultivation of tea and chose Assam and Darjeeling as the initial sites for planting.
The tea market in India started to grow after numerous unsuccessful efforts over 14 long years enabling the production of a tea that made India one of the largest tea producers in the world till this date.
