Tea is a very popular drink throughout India. It is enjoyed by all for its refreshing taste and aroma. India has various tea plantations all over it, from the Assam and Darjeeling valleys in the northeast, to the southwestern regions of the country in the Nilgiri Hills.

Tea plants had been growing in the hills and valleys of Assam in the wild for several decades before the East India Company explored them. During the 19th century, the East India Company had a monopoly on the production and trade of tea throughout the world. Although tea was first produced in China, the British held the authority as they had colonies in various parts of the world, India being one of them. In his adventure book, the famous traveler Jan Huyghen had mentioned that the Indians use tea leaves as a vegetable and cultivate them to brew beer. However, no one paid attention to his accounts, and the tea plantations in India went unnoticed.

Joseph Banks, a renowned British botanist had suggested that India had a suitable climate for growing tea and he brought up the idea of ​​bringing tea bushes from China to India to grow. Charles Bruce, an employee of the East India Company later realized this and brought several tea bushes and seeds from Assam and handed them over for testing at the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

The East India Company then had a complete monopoly on the tea trade and had a more than satisfactory income trading Chinese tea. Therefore, little attention was paid to the find of Charles Brooks. However, in the mid-19th century, when the East India Company lost its monopoly on the tea trade, it had to draw its attention to tea plantations in the colonies under its command, mainly India. Then Charles Bruce was sent to Assam, as chief to oversee the growth of tea in India.

Under pressure from the British government, he imported tea bushes from China to India to grow there. Tea seeds were first grown in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, before they could be brought to Assam to be planted there. Meanwhile, Charles Bruce, with the help of various tea experts and laborers from India, began to establish tea farmland in Assam. Assam was full of jungles constantly infested with wild animals and tribes. Also, the climatic conditions in Assam were harsh for these people to establish tea plantations.

However, with constant perseverance, they eventually managed to establish tea plantations. These plantations had both the Chinese variety and the indigenous Assamese variety. Chinese tea was unable to grow or sustain itself in harsh weather conditions and its Indian counterparts survived. This Indian variety was exported to Great Britain and was well accepted both at the king’s court and among the people. Thus, this gave rise to the popular brand, Indian tea, known as “chai”.

After the tea plantations became successful in the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam, the growth of tea gradually began to spread. It reached the foothills of the Himalayas at Darjeeling in North Bengal and other valleys like Dooars, Terai etc.

After exploring the northeast, the tea traveled to the southern region, where the Nilgiri Hills proved to be a very good place for tea cultivation.

The East India Company first commercially exported tea from India in 1853. Since then, the Indian tea market has continued to flourish and grow.