According to ancient records, the cultivation of tea in India started at the beginning of the 18th century. At that time, English scientists were able to cultivate cuttings of Chinese tea seeds. Simultaneously, the “thea assamica” was discovered in impenetrable territory. Both of these successes laid the foundations for a large-scale cultivation of the tea plant in India. The mild, tropical climate, which predominates the region of Assam, proved to be ideal for the cultivation of strong, spicy teas. The cooler highlands of Darjeeling, on the other hand, were ideal for cultivating finer, more flowery qualities.

The black teas from the highland plateaus of Sikkim resemble those of Darjeeling, but have an even softer cup. In the tea gardens of the southern Indian tea district Nilgiri, fine, lively teas grow on various mountains. These are reminiscent of high-quality Ceylon teas.

MAIN CROPS
March – May • First Flush
At the beginning of spring, after the end of the vegetation break, the first, delicate leaves and leaf buds are plucked. Lively and fresh aromas, as well as delightfully flowery scents characterise a good first flush. Premium qualities sometimes contain a hint of a nutmeg.

May – June • Inbetween
Towards the end of the first flush season the first touches of the second flush period can be noted in the qualities. The leaves and the Infusion are already turning darker and the diversity of the flavours varies from full-bodied to slightly aromatic.

Assam is a province in north-eastern India and has a tropical climate. Surrounded by Bangladesh, Burma, Bhutan, Tibet and China, the only connection to the mother country India is a strip of land in the northwest of this province. About half of the tea produced in India is grown here: the largest tea-growing region in the world. These strong and spicy teas perform well with hard (calcareous) water and form the basis for several classical black tea blends. Tea plants are cultivated in large tea gardens with a cultivatable area of up to 1,000 hectares. There are about 2,000 plantations in Assam.

Teas from Nepal, which used to be classified as “good average” qualities in the past, have undergone an impressive development in recent years. Not only the black tea varieties, but also the half-fermented, green and even white creations, which are offered on the market, must not hide behind their “big” brother in Northern India in terms of processing, optic, flavour and scent – some even surpass it.

Ceylon teas offer the tea connoisseur a large spectrum of flavours: Pleasantly harsh, high-grade tea from the south-eastern UVA-District, delicious, golden tea from the Western Dimbula-District as well as highly aromatic and golden yellow-coloured tea from the mountains (some reach an altitude of 2,000 m) sur rounding Nuwara Eliya. Stronger and darker qualities are generally from the lower tea growing regions.

Ceylon teas are traditionally very famous, especially in Eastern Europe and in the near and Middle East. The influence of the English colonisation greatly affected Ceylon’s (renamed Sri Lanka in 1972) cultural and economic development.

Due to the various geographical locations, one does not only distinguish the regions, but also the altitudes at which the teas are grown:

Lowgrown: 0 – 550 m
Mediumgrown: 550 – 1,050 m
Highgrown: 1,050 – 2,250 m

Although Vietnam has one of the oldest tea cultures in Asia, it is only since the beginning of the 1980s that tea from Vietnam has been taken seriously by the Europiean Market in the bulk tea sector and even more recently also for specialities.

While largely green teas have been produced for more than 2000 years in the Northern Vietnamese highlands at altitudes of up to 1,500 m, Southern Vietnam produces mainly orthodox black tea “trà man” in the lowlands around Lam Dong and Thai Nguyen. In the North, we still mostly find traditional structures. “Small holders”, which are family-run plantations with own tea fields, but without own production facilities deliver the freshly plucked leaves to a factory. There, they receive a payment based on the quantity and quality of the leaves.

In Central and Southern Vietnam, the tea plantations and factories are mostly in the same hands, following the example of the tea gardens of India and Ceylon. 

The Chinese Middle Empire is generally considered as the home of tea and the province Yunnan as its birthplace. The world‘s biggest tea producing country is also one of the most fascinating. The many mountain provinces of central and southern China are the origin of countless green and black teas,
e.g. Chun Mee, Gunpowder, Jasmine, Keemun, Lapsang Souchong, Lichee, and Yunnan.

The provinces Zhejiang in the southeast of the country, famous for its Gunpowder “Temple of Heaven”, and Fujian, located to the southwest of Zhejiang, belong to the classical and most important tea growing regions. Fujian is known as the country of the traditional Chinese Jasmine tea culture. Apart from these well-known teas from regions such as Zhejiang, Anhui, Yunnan, Fujian and Jianxi, we are pleased that many small plan tations and family-run farms are again offering their exquisite specialities to the Western market after the opening of China.

On the main island Honshū, as well as on the smaller islands Shikoku and Kyūshū, almost all Plantations traditionally grow green tea, these teas vary widely, but all of them present a fresh, clear character. The main harvesting period is between April and September. The very few, select export qualities are, therefore, very popular. Right after the withering, the leaves of the green tea varieties are steamed in order to stop oxidation by the natural enzymes present in the leaves and to fix the green colour. According to the quality, the leaves are either hand – or machine-rolled afterwards.

Located between the Indian Ocean in the West and the Pacific in the East, Thailand borders on Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia in its North as well as Malaysia in the South. Tea cultivation takes place in the north of the country, at altitudes above 1,000 m.

Since the 1980s, tea cultivation was pushed and financially accelerated by the popular King Bhumibo with the goal to turn the farmers and their families away from the cultivation of opium and help them build a secure future income.

As a supporting measure, selected tea plants of first rate were imported from Taiwan in the 1990s and integrated in teagardens in even the most remote mountain villages. Thailand is still a young tea country, but it will surely soon make a lasting impression on the tea world map.

This island is home to the world-famous Oolong teas and of some interesting green teas. Various qualities are predomi nantly exported to China, Japan and the USA; some do, of course, reach Europe.

The term Formosa comes from the Portuguese and means “wonderful” island. Since 1885, the name Taiwan (literally “Terrace bay”) has become more famous and is the official name of this island today.

As in the case of Sri Lanka/ Ceylon, the name Formosa kept its importance in the world of teas. Even though the first tea plants were grown in Formosa only in 1650, an impressive tea culture has developed ever since and was further promoted by the many tea experts who emigrated during the Cultural Revolution.