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
Lipton Institute of Tea major tea-growing regions (such as India and Kericho, Kenya, where Unilever owns tea plantations) and other key tea-drinking markets (including France, Japan, China, and the USA). The Institute claims as its mission "to promote awareness and understanding of tea, from bush to cup". The Institute also participates in and organises scientific conferences. Integral to the Institute’s research facilities is its operation of what it claims is the world’s most northerly tea plantation at its UK headquarters. This facility grows representative samples of tea from around the world in a controlled environment. The Institute invests in clinical trials to support benefit