The air hangs heavy with moisture and heat, a perfect setting to grow and nurture the perfect cup of tea. Alongside the growing fame of tea in England, the fortunes of the British East India Company as a global trader in Eastern spices and exotica grew. It was Indian opium that would eventually be employed to pay for the British cup of afternoon tea. Enterprising Brits and Scots were granted huge estates of virgin forest land at minimal cost in return for clearing the wild and establishing tea plantations. Tea plantations would soon coat the landscape of Brahmaputra valley establishing growing plantation economy.

Source: dna January 28, 2018 02:26 UTC