Looking after the bushes in a tea garden in North-east India, in Darjeeling

From the archive record

India produces and consumes more tea than any other country in the world, except for China, including the famous Assam tea and Darjeeling tea. According to the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, there are plans to officially recognise tea as the "National Drink" in 2013. According to the ASSOCHAM report released in December, 2011, India, as the world's largest consumer of tea uses nearly 30 per cent of the global output. India is also the second largest producer of tea. Despite the production, India is also the largest exporter of tea after China. The cultivation and brewing of tea in India has a long history of applications in traditional systems of medicine and for consumption. The practice of Ayurveda has resulted in a long standing tradition of tisanes, (an in