Revenues from the China tea trade underwrote the Company’s expansion and financed the consolidation of British power in India. Early plantations relied on a smuggled Chinese variety, Camellia sinensis, before shifting to the native Camellia assamica, which had long grown wild in the region. The colonial tea enterprise required coordination across labour, processing, finance, insurance, shipping and retail. Tea estates can grow medicinal botanicals, blend them with tea, and create formats suited to contemporary lives, from hot infusions to cold brews and ready-to-drink beverages. Yet improving the appeal of tea as a beverage will not, on its own, secure the future of the colonial tea estate.

Source: The Telegraph December 28, 2025 07:00 UTC