The oldest tea research station of its kind sits at Jorhat, and a central scheme funds Assam's gardens

Background

Research on all aspects of tea cultivation and processing is carried out at the Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, the oldest and the largest research station of its kind in the world.
Tea research in India began with the establishment of the Scientific Department of the Indian Tea Association in the year 1900, and was consolidated with the creation of the Tocklai Experimental Station in 1911.
The formation of the Tea Research Association in 1964, with Tocklai at the centre of all activities, expanded tea research to cover the entire Northeast India.
Its advisory network covers 1,076 tea estates occupying 341,049 hectares of land spread over the South Bank, North Bank, Upper Assam, Cachar, Tripura, Dooars, Darjeeling and Terai.
The Government of India, through the Tea Board, implements the Tea Development and Promotion Scheme, under which, out of the Tea Board's overall budget, 152.76 Crore rupees was allocated and 150.20 Crore rupees was utilized for activities specific to the State of Assam during the period 2021-22 to 2025-26, up to 31 October 2025.
Activities in Assam under the scheme over that same period included re-plantation of tea in 437.42 Ha area, the formation of 318 SHGs, 143 FPOs and 26 FPCs, and the setting up of 31 mini tea factories.
They also included conversion of 30.32 Ha area of tea plantations into organic, the setting up of 30 farm field schools and the organisation of 1343 capacity building programs.
The export of Indian tea, which includes Assam Tea, grew from 751.07 million USD in 2021-22 to 923.89 million USD in 2024-25.