Assam tea is a black tea named after Assam, India, the region of its production. It is manufactured specifically from the plant Camellia sinensis var. assamica (Masters).[1][2] The Assam tea plant is indigenous to Assam—initial efforts to plant the Chinese varieties in Assam soil did not succeed.[3][4] Assam tea is now mostly grown at or near sea level and is known for its body, briskness, malty flavour, and strong, bright colour. Assam teas, or blends containing Assam tea, are often sold as "breakfast" teas. For instance, Irish breakfast tea, a maltier and stronger breakfast tea, consists of small-sized Assam tea leaves.[5]
The state of Assam is the world's largest tea-growing region by production, lying on either side of the Brahmaputra River, and bordering Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and very close to China. This part of India experiences high rainfall; during the monsoon period, as much as 250 to 300 mm (10 to 12 in) of rain falls per day. The daytime temperature rises to about 36 °C (96.8 °F), creating greenhouse-like conditions of extreme humidity and heat. This tropical climate contributes to Assam tea's unique malty taste, a feature for which this tea is well known.
Though Assam generally denotes the distinctive black teas from Assam, the region produces smaller quantities of green[6] and white teas as well, with their own distinctive characteristics.[7]
Historically, Assam has been the second commercial tea production region after southern China, the only two regions in the world with native tea plants.
The introduction of the Assam tea bush to Europe is related to Robert Bruce, a Scottish adventurer, who apparently encountered it in the year 1823. Bruce reportedly found the plant growing "wild" in Assam while trading in the region. Maniram Dewan directed him to the local Singpho chief Bessa Gam.[8] Bruce noticed local people (the Singhpos) brewing tea from the leaves of the bush and arranged with the local chiefs to provide him with samples of the leaves and seeds, which he planned to have scientifically examined. Robert Bruce died shortly thereafter, without having seen the plant properly classified. It was not until the early 1830s that Robert's brother, Charles, arranged for a few leaves from the Assam tea bush to be sent to the botanical gardens in Calcutta for proper examination. There, the plant was finally identified as a variety of tea, or Camellia sinensis var assamica, but different from the Chinese version (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis). The indigenous Assam tea plant was first mentioned by a historian called Samuel Baidon who published Tea in Assam in 1877.[9]
^"Tea Classification". Toklai: Tea Research Association. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
^"Camellia sinensis var. assamica". ITI Standard Report Page. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
^Barua, D.N., Dr. (1989). Science and Practice in Tea Culture. TRA Pub. p. 509.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Chen, Jin; Wang, Pingsheng; Xia, Yongmei; Xu, Mei; Pei, Shengji (February 2005). "Genetic diversity and differentiation of Camellia sinensis L. (cultivated tea) and its wild relatives in Yunnan province of China, revealed by morphology, biochemistry and allozyme studies". Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 52 (1): 41–52. doi:10.1007/s10722-005-0285-1. S2CID 19378597.
^Campbell, Dawn (1995). The Tea Book. Pelican Publishing. p. 203. ISBN 9781455612796. Retrieved 2 March 2013 – via Google Books.
^Pettigrew, Jane (2004). The Tea Companion. Running Press. p. 106. ISBN 9780762421503. Retrieved 2 March 2013 – via Google Books.
^Goswami, Roopak (29 December 2011). "Assam CTC fetches record price". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
^Nitin Aant Gokhale (1998). The hot brew: the Assam tea industry's most turbulent decade, 1987–1997. Spectrum Publications. p. 4. ISBN 978-81-85319-82-7.
^"How was tea discovered in Assam". TEAORB. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
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