The raw materials for making tea are the leaves of an evergreen shrub plant. In India, it is grown on special plantations. Tea bush growth requires a warm climate, moisture is needed, but water should not stagnate at the roots of the plant. Therefore, plantations are located on mountain slopes in areas with a subtropical or tropical climate.
The peoples of South Asia have historically treated the drink as a medicine. Indian masala tea with spices is mentioned in Ayurveda's medical texts.
The cultivation and preparation of tea in India has a long history. For the first time it is mentioned in the ancient Indian epos "Ramayana" (the poem is written in Sanskrit 750-500 BC). Later, during the first centuries of modern chronology, Buddhist monks, in particular, Bodhidharma and Gan Lu, spoke about the drink. In eastern and northern India, it was traditionally used by representatives of only a certain part of society. In those days (before the advent of the East India Company), Indian tea was not mass produced. Only with the advent of the British, large territories were allocated for the production of plant materials and organized the industrial production of various grades and varieties.
In India, mainly produce black Assamese tea. It is called the state of Assam - the region in which it grows. Black Indian tea, in comparison with Chinese brands, is characterized by a weak aroma and strong taste. Indian manufacturers make their products in granular form or in the form of cut leaves. Green tea is produced in India in small volumes, it is not of high quality and is mainly exported.
The easiest and most traditional way of preparing a drink is to brew it with boiling water and insist. So they usually make Indian tea. Depending on the variety and local traditions, the concentration of the feedstock, the temperature of the water and the duration of the infusion vary. Until the 19th century, only monks used tea as a medicine in India. Later, some traditions of the Indians borrowed from the British. But tea was never and never has become a mass drink, either in Russia or in England.
India is famous for its rich national traditions regarding this drink. Indian tea is known and appreciated all over the world. The country mainly uses masala. It is brewed from black varieties and served with milk, sugar and spices: necessarily with cinnamon, but also add ginger, cardamom and other spices. The cooking technology is slightly different from the usual one and has its own characteristics: sugar and spices are added to the water, and then only it is boiled. 1.5-2 tablespoons of black Indian tea are put on a glass of drink.
Indian industry currently owns many global brands. It has become one of the most technologically advanced industries in the world. Indian companies have acquired foreign tea production and sales enterprises. These include the world's second largest producer and distributor of British brands Tetley and Typhoo (the old Typhoo brand was launched in 1903 in the UK by John Sumner Jr. from Birmingham, England). A number of well-known varieties, such as Indian Darjeeling tea, are grown on alpine plantations in the Indian Himalayas.
For almost a century, India was the largest producer of tea, but China has recently overtaken it. Now she takes only the second place. More than 70% of production is sold in India itself, but tea consumption per capita in the country remains modest - only 750 grams per year per person. This is due to high poverty and a large population.