Assam Tea

The only way you can taste the sweetness of the Assam Valley of India is by drinking their high flavored Assam tea. This is the only tea known to brew the best and malty flavored burgundy red-cup which makes all those who taste get the best reason to visit the Assam Valley and witness the whole production process of the tea.

This fine tea is grown along the Brahmaputra River which is a slow flowing river with series of meanders. The seasonal flooding of this great river deposits the rich loamy soil over the valley. This deep and sandy-like loamy soil favors the growth of the Assam teas.

The Assam region of India is known as the second largest commercial tea producing zone after the Southern China. Even though Assam is known to produce the Assam black tea, it also produces small quantity of green and the commonly known white teas which have distinct and unique characteristics.

Historically, only Assam and Southern China regions of the world are known to produce native teas in commercial basis. However, the tea produced from the Assam region is known to have caused a revolution in the world tea drinking habits especially in the 19 century.

The climatic factors which favor the growth of these stereotyped teas are cool and hot climates. The humid rainy condition of the Assam region provides the cool atmosphere that favors the growth of the tea. Lengthy growth period of this tea is also a factor that makes Assam be the only region suited for the tea.

You could be wondering about the discovery of the Assam teas. The tea in Assam was discovered by a Scottish trader, Robert Bruce in 1823. In his trade activities in Indian region, he found the inhabitants of Assam brewing tea using the leaves from the Assam tea bush. In 1830, Roberts’s brother did some research on the tea leaves at the botanical garden of Calcutta where the plant was identified as tea specie.

The Assam black tea finally found its market in the European countries especially in England where the famous farmer Charles Bruce and others started commercial cultivation of the tea. Currently, the Assam region boasts of over six hundred tea estates which produce the tea in large quantities.

While some of these Assam tea estates produce the native tea, others specialize in the production of the organic Assam tea. For instance, the Banaspaty Estate which is situated in Karbi Anglong District which is within the Assam valley produces the best and finest organic tea sold in most parts of the world.

How do you brew a cup of tea from the Assam variety? Use cold water especially tap water which should be boiled. For instance, when using a kettle to boil the water, remove the water when it is boiled and add tea leaves to the empty kettle after which the boiled water should be add on top of the tea leaves. After 3 to 5 minutes, sieve off the tea leaves and serve the tea.