Indian tea culture the Yandaboo Treaty. In 1837, the first English tea garden was established at Chabua in Upper Assam; in 1840, the Assam Tea Company began the commercial production of tea in the region, run by indentured servitude of the local inhabitants. Beginning in the 1850s, the tea industry rapidly expanded, consuming vast tracts of land for tea plantations. By the start of the 20th century, Assam became the leading tea producing region in the world. But despite the discovery of the indigenous "Camellia sinensis" plant, the tea industry in India began with 42,000 seedlings germinated from a consignment of 80,000 seeds
Tea production in the United States Tea production in the United States "Camellia sinensis" can be grown in warmer parts of the United States and currently the US mainland has a relatively large plantation with full mechanization in Charleston, South Carolina, and numerous small number of commercial tea gardens and smaller artisan operations that currently pick tea by hand. Many smaller sites are looking to mechanize, at least partially, within the next 5 years. Some growers feel that tea production is not viable without some mechanization, but there is evidence that unmechanized tea production is viable, albeit with lower net profit margins. Most domestically grown teas