How Tea entered into Indian Food Culture?

Tea as well as tea consumption was prevalent in China (also in North East India) for thousands of years. Tea made inroads into Europe mainly via two routes. In Eastern Europe, it entered from China & Persia through Russia. In Western Europe, it entered by sea around the Cape of Good Hope through the Dutch and British East India company facilities.

East India Company and China Tea Trade

The pioneer work in the development of India tea was done by East India Company.  The efforts to encourage tea cultivation began as early as from the times of Governor General Warren Hastings, who in 1776 had instructed one of the officers to prepare notes on cultivation of new crop into India. But no one in the company bothered much until 1833 because till that time, East India Company enjoyed monopoly in tea & silk trade with China, making huge profits. China used to provide these two commodities to East India Company in return for silver and bullion. But in 1833, the Chinese did not renew the agreement with British and thus their monopoly ended. With this, one of the most lucrative businesses of East India Company ended. This was beginning of serious efforts to cultivate tea commercially in India.

The first discovery of a wild tea plant is ascribed to Robert Bruce, who found it in 1821 in interior Assam. But it is beyond doubt that it wild tea plants were abundantly available in India also in upper Assam jungles and there local tribes such as Singhpos and Khamtis used to drink brew from tea leaves, which was called Finap.

The first tea garden was started in 1835 in Lakhimpur district of Assam. England received first chest of Assam tea in 1838. However, the early years of tea plantations were marked by several failures including wrong selection of sites and wrong way of manufacturing. For 13 years, even the monopolistic Assam Tea Company (ATC) had provided no dividends. But by 1850s, there was a huge extension of tea cultivation and production. Gradually, Indian tea started making inroads not only into international but also domestic market. Slowly it entered into the food culture of India and increased domestic consumption gave a boost to development of tea.