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
Nilgiri tea After processing (which converts the green leaf into 'made tea'), most is sold through regularly scheduled auctions in Coonoor, Coimbatore and Kochi. More than 50% of Nilgiri tea is exported, and usually finds its way into blends used for tea bags. Data is unreliable on the precise proportion of Nilgiri tea that is actually exported. However, Neilson and Pritchard ("op cit") suggest that at least 70% of South Indian tea is exported, and the Nilgiris constitutes more than half of all South Indian production. The expensive hand-sorted, full-leaf versions of the tea like the Orange Pekoe (O.P.) are highly sought