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
History of tea 'estates' or tea plantations each. Ceylon tea is divided into 3 groups as Upcountry, Mid country and Low country tea based on the geography of the land on which it is grown. Africa and South America have seen greatly increased tea production in recent decades, the great majority for export to Europe and North America respectively, produced on large estates, often owned by tea companies from the export markets. Almost all production is of basic mass-market teas, processed by the Crush, Tear, Curl method. Kenya is now the third largest global producer (figures below), after China and India, and is