ASSAM TEA

             

Abhijit Baruah, B. Sc 4th Sem,
Botany Major

Tea has become almost universal in use because many people all over the world now-a-days drink tea. Tea is made from the leaves of the tea-plant. This plant is an evergreen shrub. 

Tea was first cultivated in china. Now-a-days along with china, India and Srilanka are also two large producers. In India, Assam and Darjeeling are the best areas for tea plantation.

            Tea plants grow well on the slopes of the hills where there is much rainfall as well as sunshine. It requires 70⁰F to 80⁰F. Water should not be logged at the roots. The tea plant grows best on the sloping hill-sides.

Tea leaves are plucked from the plants about four times a year in April, May, June and August.

There are different qualities of tea. The buds and young leaves make the best kind of tea. The larger and older leaves do not make good tea.

            Assam tea is a black tea named after the region of its production. Assam tea is manufactured specially from the plant Camellia sinensis var. assamica. This tea most of which is grown at or sea level is known for its briskness, malty flavor, and strong, bright colour.

The state of Assam is the world’s largest tea growing region, lying on either side of the Brahmaputra River, and bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar.             This part of India experiences high precipitation during the monsoon period as much as 10 to 12 inch of rain per day.

Historically Assam has been the second commercial tea production region after Southern China. Southern China and Assam are the only two regions in the world with native tea plants. 

The gardens in Assam do not follow the Indian standard time which is the time observed throughout India and Srilanka. The local time in Assam tea garden known as “Tea Garden Time” or Bagantime. Working time for laborers in the gardens is generally between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It may vary slightly from garden to garden.

            The tea plant is grown in the lowlands of Assam. The Assam tea bush grows in a lowland region, in the valley of the Brahmaputra River. Each year the tea estates of Assam collectively yield approximately 1,500 million pounds (680,400,000kg) of tea.

Assam tea is generally harvested twice in a “first flush” and a “second flush”. The first flush is picked during late march. The second flush, harvested later  is the more prized “tippy tea”. This second flush tippy tea is sweeter and is generally considered superior to the first flush tea.

            The leaves of the Assam tea bush are dark green and glossy and fairly wide compared to those of the Chinese tea plant.