A look at the Assam tea growing region of India and its teas

The Tea Detective
Uncovering and Exploring the Facts About Tea

Assam-India's Vast & Beautiful Tea Basket

India's Assam region, known as the "land of the one-horned rhino," is vast and beautiful, with
lush, dense forests and sprawling plains, along with the world's longest river, the Brahmaputra,
running through it. Assam is not only India's largest tea growing region, but the world's, with
nearly 450,000 tons of tea (55% of India's total yearly production) produced in 1993, from over
2,000 tea gardens.

Assam is located at the foothills of the eastern Him-
alayas, in the far eastern corner of India. The
Brahmaputra River runs down through the middle
of the region, carrying rich, fertile soil from the
mountains of Tibet, coming to the end of its journey
in the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh.

Essentially a large, tropical river valley, Assam's
varied weather forms its own microclimate. The
massive Himalaya Mountains block the hot and
humid monsoon air, keeping it from blowing north
away from the valley.

This in turn causes more rainfall, which causes the
rivers to overflow their banks, depositing a new,
fertile coat of topsoil each year giving the tea
plants an added nutritional boost, further support-
ing their lavish growth.

Assam has an extremely high rainfall amount per year, usually 80 to 120 inches, but it's been
known to exceed thirty-three feet in just one season. The temperature also rises during the
rainy season causing high humidity and giving the air the feel of a hothouse.

This is the perfect climate for growing tea and one of the reasons Assam is the largest tea grow-
ing region in the world.

Assam produces both mass-market ctc (cut-tear-curl), and specialty orthodox teas. Unfortunate-
ly much of the tea produced in the world competes for the same market, causing the price for
mass market ctc teas to drop significantly.

The price has dropped so low, in fact, that many of Assam's tea growers have given up and clos-
ed their tea gardens. Estimates from 2003 to 2005 show between 100-150 gardens closed.

Another problem Assam tea growers face is the region's political instability, causing unsafe con-
ditions for visiting foreign buyers, as well as discouraging both foreign and local capital invest-
ment by area tea garden and factory owners.

Many Assam tea growers are working toward changing the negative situations facing them.
They are upgrading the quality of the tea they produce and with help from the government, re-
building infrastructures, and marketing a higher grade product.

Assam's tea growing regions are divided into four parts: Upper Assam, located at the far end of
Assam near the Chinese-Myanmar border, the North Bank at the northern banks of the Brahma-
putra River, Central Assam, and Lower Assam which lies in the western half.

The Upper and Central Assam districts produce the largest volume and best tasting teas. Be-
cause the region is so vast it's difficult to get an accurate count on the actual number of tea pro-
ducers. The Indian government figures estimate there to be between 800 to 850 tea estates
which have more than 500 acres of land.

But because it takes between 15 to 20 years for a tea garden to
be eligible to be counted as a classified garden, it's estimated that
another 500 to 800 gardens are not included in the count, but are
producing tea and adding to the yearly production numbers.

Additionally there are conceivably another 200,000 to 300,000 in-
dividual tea growers with less than ten acres who deposit their
freshly plucked tea in "bought tea" factories, of which there are approximately 150-200, and
neither the growers nor the factories are officially counted in Assam's annual production totals.

Assam officially produces an average of 400,000 metric tons of tea annually, which represents
45 to 50% of India's total tea production. But if the non-classified and independent tea growers
and factories were added in, the figure could be as high as 75% of India's tea produced just by
the region of Assam.

Like China and Japan, first flush spring teas are the most anticipated. With March comes the
first flush Assam teas with the most delicate leaves. In late May and early June come the tippy
summer 2nd flush teas, which are covered with a fine, silvery hair on the underside of the leaf.
Last is the autumn harvest which arrives in October and November, following the monsoonal
summer rains. From December to March the plants rest and remain dormant.

Some of Assam's orthodox teas are the finest in the region, but most tea produced is ctc. Be-
cause the domestic market for specialty orthodox Assam's is so small, it's risky for independent
and smaller gardens to produce it. So most of the quality orthodox Assam teas are grown and
produced by large multinational companies that can afford the risk.

For more information or to learn more about tea, visit our other pages:

Which teas come from India?
Learn about India's teas, the types and styles produced there, along with the growing seasons, climate,
and which ones are exported and can be found in and outside the U.S., and online. (From the Castleton
Estate in Darjeeling India comes Darjeeling First Flush black tea available from Silver Leaf Tea. Known for
their consistently high quality teas, this first flush whole leaf tea has the light and fruity muscatel
bouquet and light, sweet, flowery aroma, yet bold, rich flavor India teas are famous for.

Who is the world's largest tea producer?
Learn which country produces the most tea worldwide, as well as how it's made, where it is grown, and
the types and styles of tea produced.

Which three teas is India most famous for?
Learn about India and the teas its best known for along with the past history, climate, growing seasons,
and the majestic backdrop where their tea is grown.

How much tea should I use to make a gallon of iced tea?
Quick and easy recipe for brewing up a gallon of iced tea, along with tips and ideas for adding tasty
natural flavors with fresh fruit, juices, and using flavored teas. (Strawberry lover's rejoice! With real
pieces of strawberry leaf and strawberries, natural Strawberry Tea from Silver Leaf Tea makes a perfect
iced tea - just add your own fresh strawberries, ice, blend and ahhhh....sit back relax and enjoy.

What is the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) and how does it differ from Fair Trade?
Learn what the Ethical Tea Partnership or ETP is, and its function in regard to manufacturing tea, as well
as its relationship to Fair Trade, and how it differs.

Yixing teapots - beauty meets function.
Yixing teapots are beautiful yet functional, and with proper care can last a lifetime. Get tips on buying
either decorative or functional teapots and price ranges for each category. Also learn how to care for
and season your new Yixing teapot.

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That risk is getting less and less, though, as demand for specialty orthodox teas has reached its highest point ever,
with no signs of slowing down.

Like many other tea producing regions in the world, Assam's growers and researchers are working on producing
heartier tea plants that can withstand everything from droughts to flooding, to resistance to diseases and pests, and
an increase in the amount of leaf per plant.

Both ctc and traditional specialty orthodox teas are sold at the Guwuhati Auctions for the domestic market, or the
Siliguri or Calcutta auctions for the export. Enjoy.