Heritage Assam Tea Tourism

A view of a lush green landscape with dominating sounds of birds, busy hands of workers plucking the tea leaves and finally a relaxing and soothing aroma of the famous Assam tea in the Bungalows amidst the exotic tea gardens is what that calls for a memorable visit to these pleasant places.

History of Assam Tea

People in Assam consumed a kind of medicinal drink from a wildly growing plant. During the year 1823, this particular drinking activity came to the notice of an English Major named Robert Bruce. Maniram Dewan arranged his meeting with a Singpho Chief named Bessa Gam who offered this medicinal drink to the Major. Later, Bruce arranged a favor from the Singphos to provide some samples of the leaves and seeds of the plant to East India Company's Botanical Garden at Calcutta (now Kolkata) for scientific observation. Unfortunately, the identification of the samples was refused due to various reasons. Finally, in the year 1834, Charles Alexander Bruce, the brother of the pioneer Major Bruce succeeded in attaining the confirmation of the identity of this wildly grown plant as a variety of tea, ultimately naming as Assam Tea (scientifically known as Camellia Sinosis).

During later period, various research projects proved that 'tea' acts as anti-oxidant which promotes heart health, prevents Cancer, helps combating and guarding against most diseases like Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Tumor, Ulceration, Inflammation, intestinal problem, dental decay and a lot more.

The tea growing activity in Assam had began nearly 178 years ago consequently growing into a commercial tea production state. The lowlands of Assam, the tropical climate with a cool arid winter as well as a hot, rainy season are the best suitable conditions for the production of tea in the state. Assam tea is identified by a dark green and glossy look. At present, there are about 825 large tea gardens and almost 66,000 small tea growers in Assam producing nearly 1.5 million pounds of tea every year i.e., 20% of the total tea production in India.

Tourism in Assam has contributed to a new and unique phase in the history of Assam Tea. Various tea tourism projects offer for life-time experiences and exciting visits to these scenic natural green landscapes.