The first noteworthy experiment on Black tea cultivation in India was carried out by Colonel Robert Kyd (1746-1793) of British East India Company (1600 -1858) in 1780. The consignment of Black tea seeds was smuggled into India from China. Kyd argued experiments in botanical garden would result in production of every commercial crop of the east to make way for British East India Company to overpower its rival trading companies.
In the year 1823 Robert Bruce, an employee of the British East India Company, learned from Maniram Datta Barua, a leader of Stinghpo tribe in the Assam of Black tea & collected plants & seeds from Bessa Gaum, the chief of the Stinghpo tribe. Though Robert Bruce passed away in the following year, he had by then highlighted the province of Assam for cultivation of crops. Unfortunately, no follow up work was carried out during the decade that followed.
In 1833, following the loss of Black tea monopoly with China, British East India Company set about to cultivate Black tea in Assam. Camellia sinensis has two principal varieties: Chinese tea, which has a small, olive-green leaf; and Assam (India) tea, which has a broad leaf and pale, fleshy shoots. Following the trial & error planting of the Chinese Camellia sinensis (or chinensis, meaning Chinese in origin) & Assamese-Chinese hybrid varieties, British planters concluded local variety Camellia assamica (meaning Assam in origin) was the ideal Black tea plant for the cultivation in Assam. Today, the tea from Assam is exclusively the assamica variety.
Five years later in the year 1838, the first consignment of Black tea from India was shipped to Britain. Today, several geographically diverse rural areas throughout the subcontinent with vast tea plantations, India is one of the largest producers of Black tea in the world. The production of Black tea amounting to 715,000 tones a year, India is one of the largest tea producers in the world. Then again, 70% of the production of Black tea being consumed within India itself, India is also one of the largest consumers of Black tea.
Tea plantations in India are mainly located in rural areas of North-eastern and Southern States. The major tree cultivation regions are Darjeeling of North-Eastern India, Assam of far North-East India and Nilgiri of South India. Black tea is also grown in Karnataka, Kerala, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Bihar and Orissa.
Black tea from Assam
The Indian state of Assam, comprising river valleys of Brahmaputra and the Barak, is located south of the eastern Himalayas sharing international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh. Assam, historically the second commercial tea producting region in the world after southern China, accounts for more than half the Black tea grown in India. Black tea in Assam is grown at the sea level with the exception of Kopali Black tea grown at an elevation of 2500 ft (750 m).
Assam, one of the most beautiful regions of India is blessed with nature as well as culture. With numerous tourist attractions of nature scenery & cultural treasures & culture, among the Indian states, Assam is second to none in terms of variety & color.
Black tea from Nilgiri
Nilgiri literally meaning Blue mountains are located in the Nilgiri district of South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri is the beneficiary of Indian sub continent’s North-East monsoon as well as South-West monsoon. Nilgiri is home to the famous hill resort of Ootacamund (Ooty).
The picturesque range of mountains at the biodiversity hotspot of South India, with elevation in the range of 1000m to 2500m & annual rainfall between 60 to 90 inches is one of the prime areas of Black tea cultivation in India. The combination of elevation & annual rainfall has resulted in a fine flavor and brisk liquor of Nilgiri Black tea. The bulk of the Black tea at Nilgiri is produced by means of CTC (Crush, Tear & Curl) process of manufacture. High quality Black tea of Nilgiri is also available in versions of high cost Orange Pekoe or O.P. which is Hand sorted full leaf & low cost Broken Orange Pekoe or B. O. P. which is machine sorted semi-full leaf.
Black tea from Darjeeling
Darjeeling district of India is located in the Shiwalik Hills, West Bengal on the lower range of the Himalaya, at an average elevation of 2,100 m. Darjeeling, a colonial health resort, has earned a worldwide reputation for its industry of Black tea. Unlike most of the Black tea of India, which is manufactured of the Indian variety of Camellia assamica, Black tea of Darjeeling is produced from Chinese variety of Camellia sinensis.
