Facts

The state of Assam is situated in the northeast of India and is the largest contiguous area of tea cultivation on earth. It is bounded by the foothills of the Himalayas to the north and shares borders with Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and China. To the east is the mountainous frontier with Burma and in the south the Shillong plateau and Bangladesh.

Assam consists for the most part of fertile hills on both sides of the Brahmaputra River, which begins its journey in Tibet and conveys vast amounts of water into the Bay of Bengal during the monsoon season. As it is falls very gently (only about 100 meters for every 600 kilometers), it breaks its banks regularly every year and floods wide areas of the country.

90% of the rain falls between April and September with temperatures of 25⁰C-40⁰C and high humidity. However between October and March, there is plenty of sunshine and temperatures range between a pleasant 15⁰C and 25⁰C. The tea plant of the species Camellia is an evergreen bush; its closest relatives are the camellias which we regularly see in gardens and boarders.

We can currently distinguish three main species for the tea bush:

Camellia sinensis sinensis (the Chinese variety)
Camellia sinensis assamica (the Assam variety)
Camellia sinensis cambodiensis (the Cambodian variety)

The true botanical origin is still a matter of speculation, as it is assumed that the parent plant came from the Indian region of Assam, from where it spread to China. However, with a more than 5,000 years-of tradition, China is seen as the country in which tea originated. It was only in 1823 that some wild growing tea plants were rediscovered in Assam in northern India and subsequently cultivated.

Tea growing on a truly commercial scale was pioneered by the British in the state of Assam, India after the discovery of the tea plant by Major Robert Bruce. Over the years, through scientific research and clonal seeds plants have been developed for optimum quality, yield and pest resistance.

To ensure good growing conditions, the plant requires minimum 10 hrs 30 minutes daylight hours
An optimum range of soil pH of between 4.5 and 5.6

• An average annual temperature of at least 18^oC, but nor exceeding 39^oC or falling below 4^oC
• An average daily sunshine of at least 4 hours
• Precipitation spread evenly across the year of at least 1,600 mm
• Deep nutrient-rich loose soil, that is moisture retentive, but not waterlogged
• An optimum range of soil pH of between 5.0 and 5.6

Apart from oil, tea is one of the few organised industries in Assam directly employing over 590,000 people with another 660,000 dependents residing on the tea gardens.

The Perfect Cup of Tea

Step 1. Always use freshly drawn water as water which has previously been boiled will have become de-oxygenated and will not produce such a good liquor. If possible the water should be filtered to remove the chlorine and other additives that affect the taste. Softened water will also produce a better liquor.	Step 3. Once the water reaches a rolling boil it should be poured immediately onto the tea leaves, as over-boiling will again de-oxygenate the water and produce a flat liquor. Tea brews best at 100 degrees Celsius.
Step 2. Use one teaspoon of loose black tea per person plus one for the pot. Warm the teapot first to ensure a better brew.	Step 4. To give the best brew, leave the tea to brew for between 3-5 minutes, covering the teapot to keep the heat in.