South Asian Business news and information

Assam tea is named after Assam, a place in North Eastern India. It was here the British first discovered the Indian tea plant. Like Darjeeling, Assam also produces black tea but it also produces green tea and white tea in smaller quantity.

As a tea producing region, Assam has great historical significance. After China, it was the second place where tea was produced commercially.

In 1815, it was first recognized that the people of Assam drank tea. In 1823, and 1831 two British army officers sent samples but the results proved to be negative. In 1834, it was confirmed that tea grew in Assam. After the discovery, seeds were sown. Some of these seeds were brought from China and some were local seeds. Gradually, a new hybrid seed was created.

Today, Assam produces more than 1,500,000 pounds of tea per year. Assam has two harvests each year; first flush and second flush.

Useful Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assam_tea

http://www.teatalk.com/india/assam.htm

http://www.plantcultures.org.uk/plants/tea_history_assam_tea.html

http://www.englishteastore.com/as-25.html