Tea Story - India

India's tea story starts with a saintly priest named Bodhidharma.

2,000 years ago, the founder of Zen Buddhism was in the fifth year of a seven year sleepless contemplation of enlightenment.

Finding himself dangerously close to falling asleep, Bodhidharma snatched some leaves from a nearby bush and chewed them. He was immediately revived.

Bodhidharma turned to these leaves - tea leaves - whenever he again felt drowsy, and was thus, according to legend, able to complete his seven years of meditation.

Barely a century and half after its first crop, India is, today, the largest producer and consumer of black tea, with over two million people employed in the industry.

50% of all tea produced in India is grown in Assam. It is the largest black tea producing region in the world.