History of tea in India be the "norm", with China tea a minority taste. Until the 1970s and the rise of instant coffee, Indian tea had almost sole command of the hot drinks market. Its rivals were cocoa, coffee and savoury drinks such as Bovril and Oxo. In the early 1820s, the British East India Company began large-scale production of tea in Assam, India, of a tea variety traditionally brewed by the Singpho people. In 1826, the British East India Company took over the region from the Ahom kings through the Yandaboo Treaty. In 1837, the first English tea garden was established at Chabua in
History of tea there. Tea remained a very important item in Britain's global trade, contributing in part to Britain's global dominance by the end of the eighteenth century. To this day tea is seen worldwide as a symbol of 'Britishness', but also, to some, as a symbol of old British colonialism. The London 2012 section of the paralympic handover in Beijing included tea as part of the routine. A cup or mug of tea in Britain is usually made in a different way than is common in China and other Eastern countries. Over 90% of tea consumed is black tea, often but not