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We at MBARendezvous.com - India's content lead MBA Website have started series of articles on Industry Info to equip MBA aspirants with general awareness with the hope that you would get success in various MBA entrance exams

Following article on”  Tea Industry ” is part of our series on general awareness and Industry Info: 

There are lots of reasons why people enjoy a hot cup of tea. Countless tea lovers take it as a source of refreshment. Most of us have a sip of tea in the morning while reading a newspaper just to make our day complete. Hot tea mug warms many hands in winter morning. Sipping tea in front of the fire place is a great way to relax. Ladies Chit chat remains incomplete till they don’t share a cup of tea together. In many homes tea serves as a welcome drink. Quantity of two soft green tea leaves is enough to inject energy into your body. This is what called the magic of TEA.

"Tea" refers to the aromatic beverage prepared from the cured leaves by combination with hot or boiling water and is the common name for the Camellia sinensis plant itself. Camellia sinensis is an evergreen plant that grows mainly in tropical and sub-tropical climates.

After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. Its aroma of cooling, slightly bitter, astringent flavor attracts many. The term herbal tea usually refers to infusions of fruit or herbs containing no actual tea, such as rosehip tea or chamomile tea.

There are at least six varieties of tea:

• White
• Yellow
• Green
• Black oolong
• Oolong (can be used medicinally)
• Post-fermented teas (can be used medicinally)

Tea plants takes approximately 4 to 12 years for a tea plant to bear seed, and about 3 years before a new plant is ready for harvesting. Tea plants require at least 127 cm. (50 inches) of rainfall a year. Only the top 1-2 inches of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called flushes. A plant will grow a new flush every seven to fifteen days during the growing season, and leaves that grow slowly will always produce better flavored teas.

Tea is known as nature’s wonder drug. Tea not only good in taste, but have many health benefits as well. It also contains a variety of ingredients that are favorable to one’s health.

Let us see how a small cup of tea can be beneficial to your health:

• Tea contains antioxidants: Antioxidants can help to slow down the aging process, and help to regenerate and repair the body cells. Many studies suggest antioxidants also assist our bodies in preventing cancer.
• Tea help to lower stress hormone levels: Black tea can reduce the effects of stressful events by lowering the amount of the stress hormone cortisol in the body.
• Tea fights cavities and reduces plaque: Tea gives you a sweet smile. Tea contains fluoride and tannins that  are capable of killing or suppressing growth and acid production of cavity causing bacteria in our mouths
• Tea reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack: Tea helps to prevent from formation of unwanted blood clots that are formed from cholesterol and blood platelets, which are often the cause heart attacks and strokes.
• Tea help to lower blood pressure: Drinking green tea daily can reduce the risk of hypertension by up to 50%.
• Tea aids body in digestion: Tea is used as an after-meal digestive aid. It can also help to relieve stomach cramps and help body’s immune system to fight off infection. According to researchers, tea drinkers’ immune system activity in the blood is higher than non tea drinkers.
• Tea prevent from diabetes: There is some evidence that suggests, green tea might help to lower the risk of getting Type 2 Diabetes.
• Tea increases metabolism: Green tea helps to increase metabolic that can burn 70 to 80 additional calories by drinking just five cups of green tea per day.

Tea contains caffeine, so its benefits are bit controversial. But Green tea, is no doubt, is very useful and beneficial for health.

Tea is nearly 5,000 years old and was discovered in 2737 B.C. by a Chinese Emperor. In the 1600s, tea became popular throughout Europe and the American colonies. Since colonial days, tea has played a role in American culture and customs. In India almost 178 years ago, the race for growing tea has begun. Robert Bruce in 1823 discovered tea plants growing wild in Brahmaputra Valley. In 1838 the first Indian tea from Assam was sent to United Kingdom for public sale.

India is one of the largest tea growers in the world. However, over 70% of it is consumed by Indians themselves. Cultivation of tea in India, popularly known as ‘Chai’ started in 1833. The production of tea really took off during the days of British rule in India, when the industry primarily produce & trade tea for the British East India Company. Assam, Darjeeling, Dooars, Nilgiris are the name of the major regions in India where tea plantation thrives.

Indian tea is the finest quality in the world. Indian Tea industry is the second largest employer in the country. It occupies an important place and plays a keen role in Indian foreign trade that’s why it enjoys government attention.  Indian tea industry has major participation in Indian economic growth.  In all aspects of tea production, consumption and export, India has emerged to be the world leader, mainly because it accounts for 31% of global production.

The Tea industry is an agro based labour intensive industry. It provides direct employment to over 1 million persons.  It is one of the largest employers of women amongst organized industries in India. Women constitute nearly 51% of the total workforce.

There is ample scope for making a career in this field. The demand for human resources to operate tea industry with professional expertise increases tremendously. Work in the Tea industry includes plantation, processing, auctioning, branding, marketing and research. Tea tasting is the highly specialized area of work. You can opt for any specialized area for a bright career in Tea Management such as Plantation/factory Manager, Tea Taster, Researcher, Tea Brokers, Marketing or Consultants. Several varieties of tea can be grown in one garden. Tea gardens are controlled by professional Managers.  Some employment area for tea management professionals are: Tea Companies, Tea Gardens, Tea Broking House, Tea Associations, Tea Board of India, Tea Researcher Companies. There are a plenty of jobs emanates from the Tea Management.

In nutshell Tea industry is booming and its export activities are moving fast. There is a huge scope of career growth in this sector.

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