Tea Producing States in India — Top States and Conditions

The main tea producing states in India are:

1. Assam — the largest tea producing state; the Brahmaputra valley is famous for its tea.
2. West Bengal — second largest; the Darjeeling and Dooars regions produce famous tea.
3. Tamil Nadu — the Nilgiri hills produce well-known tea.
4. Kerala — tea is grown in the hilly areas like Munnar.
5. Karnataka — small tea-growing areas in the hills.
6. Other states — Himachal Pradesh (Kangra), Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya and Mizoram also grow tea.

Assam alone produces a large share of India's total tea, and along with West Bengal, north-east India dominates tea production.

Tea is a plantation crop that needs specific geographical conditions:

1. Climate: a warm and humid (moist) climate with temperatures of about 20°C to 30°C.
2. Rainfall: heavy and well-distributed rainfall of about 150–250 cm throughout the year.
3. Soil: deep, fertile, well-drained loamy soil rich in humus and iron.
4. Land: gentle slopes or hilly land, because water should not collect at the roots (tea cannot tolerate standing water).
5. Labour: tea cultivation needs a lot of cheap and skilled labour, especially for plucking the tea leaves.

These conditions are found mostly in the north-east (Assam, West Bengal) and the southern hills (Tamil Nadu, Kerala).

1. Assam is the largest tea producing state in India.
2. Darjeeling tea (West Bengal) and Nilgiri tea (Tamil Nadu) are world famous.
3. Tea is both a beverage crop and an important plantation/cash crop of India.
4. Tea was first grown commercially in Assam by the British in the 19th century.
5. India is among the top tea-producing countries in the world (along with China).
6. Tea is grown on slopes so that excess water drains away easily.