British Colonialism And Development Of Chinese Black Tea Technology In India,1750-1947

Tea became a dominant trade commodity of the British East India Company with China from the beginning of the 18th century.Besides the trade,the investigation and cultivation of the Chinese tea plant and black tea technology became one of the important missions of the company.The tea plant experimentation and cultivation began with the British colonization of India between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.This thesis highlights the efforts of the East India Company of Chinese tea plant transfer and technology development in colonial India.It also discussed how the black tea industry was developed in the Indian colony.The process of mechanization and the impact of the Indian tea industry on the Chinese tea industry during the colonial period are also explored.In the Ming dynasty,tea stir-frying techniques were adopted which changed the tea produced in the form of cake to the loose-leaf tea and became the most common production process in China.In the 16th century,the monks from Songluo brought the new tea processing methods to Wuyi Mountains.The new method to expose the leaves to the wind and sun was invented in the Wuyi.This was technically an oxidation process that changed the flavor and color of tea.These were semi-fermented oolong teas(Wulong cha).The more oxidation of oolong teas provided the full oxidized black tea known as "Bohea".When the British East India Company initiated the tea trade with China,the Wuyi shan black tea was famous in British society for its strong taste and low price.When the British East India Company colonized the West Bengal of India.They began to transfer the tea plant from China and cultivate it in their colony.In 1834,a proper discussion on tea plant transfer was started by the Committee of Tea Culture in the Indian colony.Moreover,the tea knowledge circulation and investigation among the British naturalists,botanists,and geologists brought the great discovery of native tea plants in Assam.However,the Chinese tea plant experimentation was an important matter for the colony East India Company in the Indian colony.Thus,the tea seeds and cultivation skills were transferred from China and properly experimented for the first time in Assam,Himalayas,and South India in 1836.The Chinese tea plant variety became successful in the Himalayas while the Assam and hybrid varieties of the tea plants were grown well in the Assam and South India.Thus.commercial tea cultivation was initiated in the 1850s and spread to the other districts of India.The Chinese tea masters were sent from China to develop and share tea knowledge with native labours.After getting appropriate knowledge about tea processing and cultivation,the planters brought the cheap and unskilled labours for their planation from other parts of India.Later,British tea companies in India actively developed the tea trade worldwide and competed with tea produced in China.The Indian tea industry attracted British planters,military persons,medical officers as well as engineers for tea plantations.Thus,the mechanization in the Indian tea industry began early in 1860.The new tea rolling,drying,sorting and tea cutting machines were invented and used for the tea manufacturing process.These machines were improved and redesigned with the passage of time by other engineers of tea districts and significantly advanced the Indian black tea industry.After the implementation of Chinese skills and British invented machinery,British tea companies in India actively developed the tea trade worldwide and competed with tea produced in China through mechanization which minimized the time,enhanced productivity,as well as reduced the prices of Indian tea.Due to the advanced and huge production of the Indian tea industry,India became the leading tea export country in the mid of 20th century.Overall,the current study enlightens the British colonization and the utilization of Chinese tea plants and technology in the establishment of the Indian tea industry,as well as the advancement of the Indian black tea industry via mechanization and the effect of the advanced Indian tea industry on the Chinese tea industry from the mid of eighteenth to mid of twentieth centuries.This opens a new avenue for historians to understand the development of the world-famous Indian black tea industry during the British colonial period.