Assam is famous for tea and the heart of India's tea industry- especially upper Assam. No trip to Upper Assam can be complete without a visit to one of the numerous lush, green tea-gardens of the valley. The tea gardens of Assam have a unique ambience, and a cultural entity that makes them stand apart from other such plantations elsewhere.

There is more to Upper Assam than just the rhinos of Kaziranga. For those who have always wanted a feel of life in a tea garden but do not know how to go about arranging such a trip, there are several tour operators offering all inclusive tours including attending the Jorhat Tea Festival, the first such tourism-related initiative in Upper Assam and a visit to the famous Tocklai Tea Research Centre. This centre is the oldest tea research centre in the world.

Some of the tour operators offers the possibility of spending a few nights in a British-era bungalow and get a rare insight into the almost colonial lifestyle of tea planters - which is a mixture of hard work and leisure.

In 1823 Robert Bruce and his brother Charles, two Scottmen with the help of the local inhabitants discovered tea bushes in Assam. Members of the Singpho tribe ate the leaves as a vegetable with garlic, and drank a brew made after dipping the leaves in boiled water. The discovery helped start India's tea industry and end China's position as the world's supplier of the beverage.
Assam tea was however not initially officially recognized as a variety of tea. According to Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, it was not until December 1834 when Charles sent samples to Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) that the plant was finally confirmed to be tea. The botanical name is: Camellia sinensis var. assamica.

The first batch of manufactured tea was exported to London in 1838. Assam now accounts for about 55 percent of India's total annual tea production of about 820 million kilograms. India is the world's largest tea producer and estimated to net $350 million annually from tea export. The tea industry provided direct and indirect employment to as many as 2.5 million people in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The three days long Tea Festival is celebrated every year in November at Jorhat, 310 kms east east of Assam's main city of Guwahati. This festival is all about tea, music and merriment. Tea tourism is still a virgin field and little unexplored.

For more information visit All Assam Tourism Festival, Jorhat