Assam

Assam is an Indian state located in north-east region. It comprises of the Brahmaputra Valley, the Barak Valley along with the Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts with an area of 30,285 sq mi (78,440 km2). Assam, along with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Meghalaya, is one of the Seven Sister States.

Assam has about 312,201 hectares of tea under cultivation and it produces about 507 million kgs of tea annually. This makes it the world’s largest tea growing region. The topography is characterized as having low altitude, rich loamy soil, ample rainfall, and a tropical climate which allows the region to produce some of the best loose-leaf orthodox teas.

The Assam region is known for producing both Orthodox as well as CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) variety of teas. Popular grades produced in Assam include the whole leaf, broken leaf, fannings, and dust.

Assam tea is known for its body, briskness, malty flavour and strong, bright colour. Assam teas, or blends containing Assam, are often sold as "Breakfast" teas. For example English Breakfast tea.

Popular Tea Estates in Assam

As far as the history of tea in Assam goes, it was discovered quite accidentally by a Scottish adventurer named Robert Bruce in the year 1823. He noticed that a certain plant variety grew wild in the region and natives used the leaves of the said plant to brew an aromatic concoction. It was not until the 1830s that the leaves of the plant were sent for scientific examination by Robert’s brother Charles. A careful scientific study concluded that the plant was a variety of tea, different from the Chinese variety of Camellia sinensis var. Sinensis. This variety was dubbed as Camellia Sinensis var. Assamica.