History
How India adopted tea
Persistent marketing campaigns made tea indispensable for India
Britishers tricked India into drinking tea. They ran marketing campaigns to sell cheap and surplus tea in 1930s-1940s. Indians did not adopt the elite way of driving tea, as they invented their own unique way.
90% of Indian tea was for exports. During the great depression tea became surplus and cheap. Britishers started giving free samples to Indians at railway stations and in the cities, villages and towns. Indians devised a unique of preparing tea, by boiling tea leaves with milk and spices. Britishers used infusion method to prepare tea. Britishers succeeded when they targeted Indian women.
As per Print: It was advertised as a progressive and empowering tool for smart, modern homemakers, who understood the importance of good nutrition and domestic hygiene. The Indian Tea Market Expansion Board urged factory owners and office managers to offer afternoon tea breaks to workers that would result in a more alert and productive workforce.
Drinking tea caught up with local Indians. Tea drinkers in Calcutta called it Cha. By 2000 India started to consume 70% of its produce. Indian tea industry employs 10 lakhs people and brings in more than INR 4000 cr from exports.
Watch: The history of tea in India Link
