Tea In India And Ceylon
In India tea was a native plant and was grown and used by locals living in remote areas. It was in the late 18th century that East India Company started experimenting with growing tea in India. Until then all the tea for Europe came from China. The commercial production of tea was slow in developing because the use of Chinese plants, which were good for a colder climate, did not do as well in the low lands. The British were slow to recognize the indigenous plants and their commercial importance.
However, when it looked like the Chinese might not renew their treaty with Britain in 1833, the British really became committed to growing tea in India. They then recognized the indigenous plants and commercial tea production took off in the Assam area. In 1869 when the Suez Canal opened and the advancement of railways came about, tea export increased tremendously. This encouraged tea production in many areas of India. Darjeeling in the foothills of the Himalayas produced one of the best and prized teas from Chinese varieties. Other places in the northeast of India as well as the hills of Nilgiri in south India produced tea, again at great expense to the environment and the people. India in a short time became the largest exporter of tea. The consumption of tea by local people also increased tremendously. The best teas are grown at elevations of 5000 to 6000 feet in Darjeeling in the north and in the Nilgiri hills in southern India.
Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the island south of India, has perfect growing conditions for fine teas with mountains as high as 6000 feet with ample rain and soil suited for tea. It is now the second largest tea exporter in the world. Tea was introduced to Ceylon much earlier but it was not until the coffee blight in 1869, which totally ruined the coffee economy, that people started planting tea. In a very short time tea production took over other crops and now accounts for one third of the total export of the country.