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Assam Tea
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The discovery, in 1823, of the Assam tea plant is attributed to Robert Bruce who spotted the plant during a trade visit to the hills around Rangpur, then capital of the Assam region. Robert Bruce had agreed with a local tribal leader to supply him with tea leaves during his next visit, which sadly failed to happen due to his passing away. However, his brother C. A. Bruce met the tribal leader during his stay with the British Gunboat division in the war against the Burmese in 1824. Most of the tea seeds were planted in Bruce's garden at Sadiya, but some were sent to Commissioner Jenkins at Gauhati. In turn, some of these were sent to the Botanical Gardens in Calcutta where Dr. N. Wallich examined the leaves and determined them to be a member of the Camellia family. However, he believed they not of the same species as the Chinese tea plant.

In those days most tea came from China, making it expensive to ship back home. The British were eager to find an alternative source of tea, so in 1834 a Tea Committee was created by the then Governor General of India, Lord William Bentinck. The Committee members were charged to find a suitable area for the cultivation of tea in India. In response to this, the Commissioner of Assam, Major F. Jenkins, put forward the case for growing tea in Assam. He had already seen tea growing natively in the forests of Assam, forwarding samples of the wild tea to the Botanical Gardens in Calcutta. On this occasion Dr. Wallich had no problem in identifying the samples as being identical Chinese tea plants. With this news the Tea Committee recommended that the indigenous plant be cultivated.

Cultivating Indigenous Indian Tea

In 1835 a scientific commission was set up to ascertain the best region to cultivate the indigenous Indian tea plants in gardens. The commission visited the Assam region in 1836 where they met their guide, Mr. C. A. Bruce. Acting as their guide, he took them to a number of areas where the indigenous plant was growing in clumps. On viewing the growth of the indigenous tea plant, Dr. Wallich believed that it was no longer necessary to import Chinese tea seeds. Another committee member, Mr. Griffith, favoured continuing to import Chinese tea seeds as a wild plant may not provide such a good crop as a plant that has been cultivated for many years. Eventually it was concluded that the Chinese plant should be used in the government's experimental tea gardens. The committee failed to reach a majority view on where to establish the experimental gardens, Dr. Wallich favoured the Himalayan region while the others favoured the Upper Assam region where the indigenous plant grew. Mr. Gordon was sent to China to procure Chinese tea seeds so that they could be shipped to India. These were grown in the Botanical Gardens at Calcutta and sent to Upper Assam, Nilgiri Hills, Kumaon and Dehra Doon.

Assam Tea Shipped To London

Mr. C. A. Bruce went on to become the Superintendent of Government tea plantations and also raised nurseries of the indigenous plant. He also travelled throughout a large part of the Assam region, discovering many tracts of indigenous tea. He brought in Chinese tea workers to harvest the crop and process it. The first samples of the indigenous tea were sent to Calcutta in 1836, where they received both a warm welcome and good reviews. The first 8 chests of Assam tea were shipped in a clipper to London in 1838 and auctioned off in the London Tea Auction. This established the value of Assam tea and forever changed the course of the tea trade. Nowadays more Assam tea is made than Chinese tea. In return for his hard work and discoveries, Mr. C. A. Bruce was awarded the English Society of Arts medal, presented through the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Bengal.

Assam in Today's India

There are about 845 tea gardens in Assam, creating employment for a large number of locals and contributing directly to the national Indian economy. Tea is grown both in the Brahmaputra and Barak plains. Assam makes up about 51% of the tea produced in India and about 1/6th of the tea produced in the world. The tea industry has contributed substantially to the economy of the Assam region with about 17 percent of Assam workers involved in the tea sector.

Assam in Barry's Tea

Barry's Tea is blended from a mixture of Kenyan tea and Indian Assam tea to create that perfect, full-bodied taste sensation. The Assam helps to give Barry's Tea it's distinctive flavour that is favoured around the world.

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