India's history is of course far more rich and interesting than I could possibly write. But I am going to stick with the tea history, and start from the point in time that the English came to India and the tea history started being documented.
There is actually documentation of tea in India dating as far back as 750-500 BC, but the first modern records were written in 1598. Jan Hughen van Linschoten had been travelling extensively in India at the time and he kept some journals. In these journals he wrote about tea, and how it was not only consumed as a drink, but the leaves were also eaten as a vegetable. There are further recordings in 1788 that a British Bontanist Joseph Banks wrote that the climate in North East India was perfect for growing tea. However, there was no mention of any indigenous tea plants being noted at that time.
 |
In 1823 Robert Bruce was credited with 'discovering' tea growing in the wild in the Assam region of India. Unfortunately for Bruce he passed away without ever really knowing if the plants he found were indeed tea plants. But his brother Charles took over and sent samples to be analyzed and it was confirmed that the plants were indeed Camillia Sinensis var. Assamica. Soon after this discovery the British East India Company was taking over and cultivating the tea.
They tried to introduce the Chinese varietal Camillia Sinensis var Sinensis, but in the Assam region, they just would not grow. In 1838 the first shipment of non-Chinese tea was shipped to England. In 1841 they had already started planting in Darjeeling, and here they were also able to plant some of the Chinese varietal.
The first war of independence was in 1857, and it shook the foundation of the British East India Company. India continues it's protests for autonomy and in the early 1900's Mahatma Ghandi leads non-violence as a campaign to gain independence. On August 15, 1947 India gains their independence, and all that is left of the British are the tea gardens.
No comments:
Post a Comment