Tea it is sometimes served with biscuits to be dipped in the tea and eaten before consuming the tea. More often than not, it is drunk in "doses" of small cups (referred to as "Cutting" chai if sold at street tea vendors) rather than one large cup. On 21 April 2012, the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission (India), Montek Singh Ahluwalia, said tea would be declared as national drink by April 2013. The move is expected to boost the tea industry in the country. Speaking on the occasion, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said a special package for the tea industry
Argentine tea culture current status as the ninth largest tea-producer worldwide. Argentina is an important tea-producing nation, the world's ninth-largest tea producer as of 2005 with estimated annual production of 64,000 metric tons. The Argentine regions with the largest concentration of tea cultivation are the highlands of the Misiones and Corrientes provinces in northeastern Argentina, where the climate is hot and humid. The major plantations are on relatively flat land where highly mechanized production can occur. The growing season for tea is from November to May. Tea exports from Argentina total about 50 million kilograms annually. Argentine tea is primarily used for blending.