By Isla Quinn
Wild first. That is how the record starts: a plant growing in the forest, noticed by a trader.
The 1820s
Tocklai Tea Research Institute says Robert Bruce found wild tea plants near Rangpur, in the area now called Sibsagar, in 1823 during a trading mission, and that his brother C. A. Bruce obtained plants and seeds from a Singphow chief around 1824. World Tea News dates the discovery of Camellia sinensis var. assamica to 1823 and names Bisa Gam, a Singpho chief, as helping with the discovery. The Assam tourism site says tea was discovered in 1823 by Robert Bruce, though Singpho people had cultivated it earlier as a herbal remedy.
Tocklai also notes an alternative account. It says some historical sources suggest Maniram Dewan, an Assamese nobleman, discovered the plant and may have introduced it to Robert Bruce. We show each version and take none.
The government steps in
Tocklai says that in 1834 the Governor General, Lord William Bentinck, appointed a Tea Committee, and that a scientific commission led by Dr N. Wallich, Dr W. Griffith and Dr J. McClelland visited Assam in early 1836. The Assam tourism site dates the start of scientific cultivation to 1833 and links it to George Gordon. The two dates, 1833 and 1834, refer to different events in different sources, and we do not merge them.
First shipments
Tocklai says the first indigenous Assam tea samples reached Calcutta in 1836, and that eight chests were sent to London in 1838 and auctioned on 10 January 1839. It says this auction established that Assam tea could be grown commercially. World Tea News says commercial production began in the early 1830s, that 130 chests were produced in 1840 and that the first tea auction in India took place in March 1841. Tocklai says the Singphow people prepared 35 of 130 chests sent to Calcutta in 1841. World Tea News says 35 of the 130 chests came from Singpho clans in 1840. The count of 35 out of 130 matches, and the year does not. We show both years.
Who got the credit
Tocklai says C. A. Bruce received the English Society of Arts medal for his work, and that Major Jenkins and Captain Charlton were given medals by the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Bengal. It says Robert Bruce received no official award.
The experiment that failed
Tocklai says the first experimental site at Saikhowa near Sadiya failed, and the plants were moved to a site near Chabua, 25 kilometres east of Dibrugarh.
Research
The sources disagree on when organised research began. Tocklai’s history page says organised tea research in India began in 1891 under the Indian Tea Association and that the Heeleakah experimental station, south of Jorhat, was established in 1904. World Tea News and the Assam tourism site both date the Tocklai research station to 1911. The tourism site calls it the oldest and largest tea research centre in the world, which is the board’s own claim.
CTC
World Tea News says the CTC machine was invented in 1931 by William McKercher at the Borbam Tea Estate. The tourism site explains CTC as crush, tear and curl and says Assam specialises in black teas made this way. It also says the state produces an organic orthodox tea that was granted GI status in 2007.
The map today
The tourism site says Assam has more than 800 major estates and 60,000 small ones, across 300,000 hectares, and produces about 550 million kilograms a year. It says this is 55 per cent of India’s tea production and 80 per cent of the country’s exports. World Tea News says Assam produces more than half of India’s tea and names the Brahmaputra as a major transport route, with towns including Golaghat, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Jorhat. It gives the Monabari estate as 1,158 hectares and the world’s largest. We could not find a second source for that last claim. The tourism site says the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre opened in 1970 and that about 20 golf courses lie within tea estates.
Dates in order
The sources give these dates. In 1823, Bruce notes wild plants. Around 1824, seeds are obtained from a Singphow chief. In 1834, the Tea Committee is appointed. In 1836, the first samples reach Calcutta and the scientific commission visits. In 1838, eight chests are sent to London, and on 10 January 1839 they are auctioned. In 1891, organised research begins, and 1904 and 1911 are given for the research stations. In 1931, CTC is invented. In 2007, the organic orthodox tea receives its GI. The 1830s dates are the least certain, since the sources assign different events to 1833, 1834 and 1836.
What kind of sources these are
Tocklai is a research institute’s own history. The tourism site is promotional. World Tea News is a trade publication, and it printed a production figure we could not use, so we left it out. None of these is a planter’s or a worker’s account.
What we left out
The sources give workforce numbers and say that people from many communities were moved to the estates. We have not found enough detail in them to write that history responsibly, so it is a gap, not a silence we chose. We also left out all prices and estate stays.
What it means for a buyer
Our view is that a label naming Assam is a start. The sources describe CTC black tea and an organic orthodox tea with a GI, and these are different products. Ask which one it is, which estate or auction it came through, and when it was packed.
Where sources differ, we show each: the discoverer, the year of the first auctions and the date of the research station. We list them in the check file.
Roam first. Shop later.