Much as the ancient Romans planted vineyards throughout their empire, the British, during colonial times, planted tea in India, Ceylon, and Africa. It could be argued that the finest of this tea is grown in Assam, a northeastern province of India. Home to some of the world's most fertile tea plantations, Assam is sandwiched into a region that borders on China, Burma, and Bangladesh. The first plantation was planted there by British settlers in 1837. The British found that Assam's growing conditions were absolutely perfect for tea - daytime temperatures there can reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, (40 degrees Celsius). The temperature, combined with an extremely wet topography, thanks to the large Brahmaputra river create what can only be described as a natural greenhouse. When the British first arrived in the area this natural greenhouse was responsible for growing wild tea plants that measured more than 60 feet tall!
Tea bushes in Assam, as they are in all tea growing regions, are now trimmed to grow to about 3.5 feet tall. This height
preferred so that the pluckers can easily reach the best leaf - the top bud and two leaves growing below it. It is this leaf that produces Assam's best teas. It is caliber of tea that we sought out when creating this outstanding Assam decaffeinated tea.