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[[File:Plucking tea in a tea garden of Assam.jpg|250px|right|thumb|A teaworker plucking tea leaves in a tea garden of Assam]]

[[File:Plucking tea in a tea garden of Assam.jpg|right|thumb|A teaworker plucking tea leaves in a tea garden of Assam]]

'''Assam tea''' (অসম, आसाम, and also असम) is a [[black tea]] named after the region of its production, Assam, in India.  Assam tea (অসমীয়া চাহ, असमिया चाय) is manufactured from the [[Camellia assamica|''Camellia sinensis'' var. ''assamica'']]. This tea, most of which is grown at or near sea level, is known for its body, briskness, malty flavor, and strong, bright color. Assam teas, or blends containing Assam, are often sold as "breakfast" teas. [[Irish breakfast tea]] for instance, is a maltier and stronger blend among the breakfast blends.

'''Assam tea''' (অসম, आसाम, and also असम) is a [[black tea]] named after the region of its production, Assam, in India.  Assam tea (অসমীয়া চাহ, असमिया चाय) is manufactured from the [[Assam|''Camellia sinensis'' var. ''assamica'']]. This tea, most of which is grown at or near sea level, is known for its body, briskness, malty flavor, and strong, bright color. Assam teas, or blends containing Assam, are often sold as "breakfast" teas. [[Irish breakfast tea]] for instance, is a maltier and stronger blend among the breakfast blends.

The state of Assam is the world's largest tea-growing region, lying on either side of the Brahmaputra River, and bordering Bangladesh and Burma (Myanmar). The Assam tea plants are grown in the lowlands of Assam, unlike Darjeeling and Nilgiri tea, which are grown in the highlands. The Assam lowland region is located in the valley of the Brahmaputra River, an area of clay soil rich in nutrients of the floodplain. This part of India experiences high precipitation; during the monsoon period, as much as 10 to 12 inches (250–300 mm) of rain per day. The daytime temperature rises to about 103F (40 °C), creating greenhouse-like conditions of extreme humidity and heat. This tropical climate contributes to Assam's unique malty taste, a feature for which this tea is well known.

The state of Assam is the world's largest tea-growing region, lying on either side of the Brahmaputra River, and bordering Bangladesh and Burma (Myanmar). The Assam tea plants are grown in the lowlands of Assam, unlike Darjeeling and Nilgiri tea, which are grown in the highlands. The Assam lowland region is located in the valley of the Brahmaputra River, an area of clay soil rich in nutrients of the floodplain. This part of India experiences high precipitation; during the monsoon period, as much as 10 to 12 inches (250–300 mm) of rain per day. The daytime temperature rises to about 103F (40 °C), creating greenhouse-like conditions of extreme humidity and heat. This tropical climate contributes to Assam's unique malty taste, a feature for which this tea is well known.

==Introduction to the West ==

==Introduction to the West ==

[[Image:Assam.jpg|thumb|220px|This 1850 engraving shows the different stages in the process of making tea in Assam.]]

[[Image:Assam.jpg|thumb|This 1850 engraving shows the different stages in the process of making tea in Assam.]]

[[File:Assam tea.jpg|thumb|200px|A cup of Assam milk tea.]]

[[File:Assam tea.jpg|thumb|200px|A cup of Assam milk tea.]]

==Sales in the United Kingdom==

==Sales in the United Kingdom==

[[File:AssamTea.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A box of Assam tea]]

[[File:AssamTea.jpg|thumb|left|A box of Assam tea]]

The intervention of the English East India Committee was released through a body of 'experts' constituting the Tea Committee (1834) to assess the scientific nature and commercial potential of Assam tea. The adherence of the members of the committee to the Chinese ideal (in terms of the plant and the method of manufacture) led to the importation of Chinese tea makers and Chinese tea seeds to displace the "wild" plant and methods obtained in Assam. After a period, however, a hybridized version of the Chinese and Assam tea plants proved to be more successful in the Assam climate and terrain.

The intervention of the English East India Committee was released through a body of 'experts' constituting the Tea Committee (1834) to assess the scientific nature and commercial potential of Assam tea. The adherence of the members of the committee to the Chinese ideal (in terms of the plant and the method of manufacture) led to the importation of Chinese tea makers and Chinese tea seeds to displace the "wild" plant and methods obtained in Assam. After a period, however, a hybridized version of the Chinese and Assam tea plants proved to be more successful in the Assam climate and terrain.

By the late 1830s, a market for Assam tea was being assessed in London; and the positive feedback led the East India Company to inaugurate a long drawn process of dispossession of agricultural land and forest commons through the infamous 'Wasteland Acts' allowing significant portions of the province by private capital to be transformed into tea plantations. The close [[symbiotic]] relationship of the colonial state and plantation capitalism through the colonial period is most succinctly captured in the term Planter-Raj.

By the late 1830s, a market for Assam tea was being assessed in London; and the positive feedback led the East India Company to inaugurate a long drawn process of dispossession of agricultural land and forest commons through the infamous 'Wasteland Acts' allowing significant portions of the province by private capital to be transformed into tea plantations. The close symbiotic relationship of the colonial state and plantation capitalism through the colonial period is most succinctly captured in the term Planter-Raj.

==Production==

==Production==

== See also ==

== See also ==

*[[Nilgiri tea]]

*[[Nilgiri]]

*[[Darjeeling tea]]

*[[Darjeeling]]

*[[Earl Grey Tea]]

*[[Earl Grey]]

 

[[Category:Black tea]]

[[Category:Black tea]]

[[de:Assam]]

[[de:Assam]]