Assam tea
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Assam is a black tea named after the region of its production (Assam, India). This tea grown at sealevel is known for its body, briskness, malty flavor, and strong, bright color. Historically, Assam is the second commercial tea production region after China. China and Assam are the only two regions in the world with native tea plants. Assam tea revolutionized tea drinking habits since the tea, produced from a different variety of the tea plant, yielded a different kind of tea.
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Geography
The tea plant (Camellia sinensis var assamica) is grown in the lowlands of Assam, unlike Darjeelings and Nilgiris which are grown in the highlands.
History
There exists a 10-th century Sanskrit medical text from Assam called Nidana that mentions leaves called shamapatra from which shamapani is made. This is probably the first mention of tea in India.
Before the commercialization of tea began in Assam, the leaves of the tea plant was used by the people with little processing. This continues in certain inaccessible regions near Assam.
Beginning
Robert Bruce is said to have discovered the tea plant growing wild in the region. According to another account, the Assamese nobleman, Maniram Dewan, lead Robert Bruce to the plant in 1823. Before his death in 1825, Bruce passed on his knowledge to his brother Charles, who sent seeds of the plant to Calcutta in 1831. In 1833 the British lost the monopoly of the Tea trade with China and the Tea Committee dispatched the secretary George Gordon to China to study the methods and begin tea plantation in Assam. He returned with the Chinese variety and workers. It was found that the local variety of plant was more suited to the local climate. On May 8, 1838 350 pounds of Assam tea were dispatched to London, and sold at India House, London on January 10, 1839. Drinkers were impressed with the tea, and the tea industry in Assam was born. Charles Bruce and others, including Maniram Dewan, began clearing the jungles and establishing tea estates.
On February 26, 1858 Maniram Dewan, the sole native tea planter, was hanged on charges of conspiracy and participation in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 against the British on the basis of an intercepted letter.
Growth
See also
External Links
- Assam Tea (http://64.95.196.106/assam.html) Tea Board of India
- Assamtea.biz (http://assamtea.biz/teabasics.htm) Tfactor Speciality Teas
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Categories: Tea | Assam