Tea production in Bangladesh tea began in the Mulnicherra Estate in Sylhet in 1857. The Surma River Valley in the Sylhet region emerged as the centre of tea cultivation in Eastern Bengal. Plantations also flourished in Lower Tippera (modern Comilla) and Panchagarh which in North Bengal.Panchagarh is the only third tea zone in Bangladesh and most demanded teas cultivated here. Tea was a major export of British Bengal. The Assam Bengal Railway served as a lifeline for the industry, transporting tea from growers in the Surma and Brahmaputra Valleys to exporters in the Port of Chittagong. The Chittagong Tea Auction was established in 1949
Pu'er tea the most highly valued, followed by fall tea, and finally summer tea. Only rarely is pu'er produced in winter months, and often this is what is called "early spring" tea, as harvest and production follows the weather pattern rather than strict monthly guidelines. Factories are generally responsible for the production of pu'er teas. While some individuals oversee small-scale production of high-quality tea, such as the Xizihao and Yanqinghao brands, the majority of tea on the market is compressed by factories or tea groups. Until recently factories were all state-owned and under the supervision of the "China National Native Produce &