Assam Broken Gold Tips

Assam tea is grown and cultivated in the Brahmaputra Valley, located in the Assam region of North East India. This one valley is the largest black tea producing region in the world. Brahmaputra Valley lies 120 miles east of Darjeeling and borders the countries of China, Burma and Bangladesh. Its location in India allows there to be very high amounts of rainfall, from 79 to 120 inches per year, which may not be an even distribution of precipitation across the valley. This, coupled with the high year-round temperatures of circa 30 degrees celsius, produces a high humidity value, which is excellent for quality tea production.

The majority of Assam tea cultivation takes place between July and September, where up to 1,000 tea pluckers will be active for eight hours a day in the hot and humid conditions. It has been estimated that each tea plucker will pluck in the region of 50,000 stems per day to keep up with the huge export demand and increasing domestic demand for the world renowned tea. This increasing domestic demand has lead Indian scientists to invest in new breeds of the tea bush which create an even more superior plant with greater leaf crops as well as employee mechanical methods of harvesting.

There are two main flushes of Assam tea. The first flush is usually picked for a period of eight to ten weeks post winter season and this begins in March. First flush Assam teas are not generally sold for export to Europe, rather kept for domestic usage unlike the Darjeeling teas, where first flushes are highly sought after. The second Assam tea flush begins in June with the majority of the harvest taking place from July to September. It is at this point in the year that the undersides of the leaves are covered in a fine, silvery hair like structure. These leaves then go on to produce the high quality tippy teas that we know Assam to produce. When brewed the tippy teas yield a rich aroma, dark red liquor that is full bodied, strong and has a rounded, malty taste, perfect for breakfast tea.