About Indian Tea

The earliest historians attributed the Indian tea story with a legendary aura. They also portrayed the picture of the first person who planted tea as an impudent adventurer who established an industrial empire in a dense forest where life was difficult; he was fighting against the extreme dislike of forest people; he was a wrestler against the wild animals, killing insects. Yet the true story wasn't that mythological, since thousands of people were involved in tea industry in India.

Ancient India's first acquaintance with the tea plant is uncertain, the only reference is "Ramayana" one of the immortal Indian legends. It is said that when Lord Rama's brother was wounded in the battle with Ravana, his elder brother sent Hanuman to the Himalayas to fetch the Sanjeevani plant. According to the legend, Hanuman failed to recognize the plant, instead he brought all plants he found. When the Sanjeevani plant was put on the man's wounds he was cured. Sanskrit researchers believed that this plant was a desert shrub from which tea was being extracted.

Moreover, Japanese and Chinese legends talk about a strong relation between India and the origin of tea. These legend stories mentioned that tea plants were carried from India and were planted in China. Why not? Since time immemorial, India and China have witnessed flourishing relation, both commercial and religious exchanges. The plant might also be described as a medicinal herb if not a fermented drink.

In the absence of historical references, it would be difficult to specify a date when the habit of drinking tea spread in ancient and Medieval India. The first credible reference was that of the German explorer John Prechit Von Mandelislo who travelled to Persia in 1630. During his visit, he fell ill in 1637 so he went on a naval trip for treatment. In describing his trip, he wrote, "Our trip to Surat took 19 days during which the captain was very kind to me. Gradually I restored my health, yet I shouldn't disregard the effect of tea on my health. Since then I got used to drinking tea twice or thrice a day". Thus by the beginning of the 17th century, drinking tea became one of the habits of the aristocrats who used to drink the Chinese tea after preparing it according to the "Mang" method.

After the British colonization, India became a transit point for the Chinese tea on its way to, Europe. However the East India Company which monopolised the tea trade with China showed no inclination to introduce the tea plant in India.

Since the Chinese tea sent to Britain was exchanged for silver, the British means were dwindling. The political churnings in China and the growing dispute between the British traders and Chinese authorities contributed to Britain's search for an alternative tea destination by the end of the 18th century.

In 1774, a shipment of tea reached India in order to be planted all along the country. Thus the establishment of tea industry in India depended upon the vagaries of coincidences, the greatest of which was the discovery of the tea plant in Assam. It was only a vast forest that could only be utilised for tea plantation. When the British realized Assam as a potential tea-growing area, they assassinated Assam's governor and brought it under the British domination especially when they were in a dire need of the Indian tea and the monopoly of the East India Company over tea trade was diminishing. Yet even after preparing Assam for tea plantation, the British never forgot their deep fond of the Chinese tea and continued tea imports from China, though this tea used to lose its aroma due to the long journey.

Ironically, the British continued their search of tea plants while it was growing in their own vicinity. They had even uprooted those tea plants while preparing the land for plantation. This land was later known for producing the best variety of tea. These series of coincidences continued till the whole mystery was revealed and thus India was crowned as the empress on the throne of tea industry.

India a Thirst Tea Nation

Tea or Chai as it more popularly known in India has always been the staple Drink of Indians, besides being a refreshing beverage with the common man, tea has also been a favourite among the health conscious but recent scientific research indicates that tea may have significant positive health benefits.

To understand the health benefits of tea we must look out the properties of teas that are most frequently referred to in the reports.