Tea growing in India in the 19th century was made possible by

Tea cultivation in India during the 19th century was significantly advanced by Robert Fortune, a Scottish botanist. In the 1840s and 1850s, Fortune was commissioned by the British East India Company to undertake a secret mission to China. Disguised as a Chinese merchant, he successfully smuggled thousands of tea plants (Camellia sinensis) and seeds out of China in Wardian cases. He also recruited experienced Chinese tea workers to provide technical expertise on cultivation and processing. While indigenous tea plants had been discovered in Assam by Robert Bruce in the 1820s, Fortune's introduction of high-quality Chinese cultivars and processing secrets was pivotal for the commercial success of the tea industry in Darjeeling and Assam. This effectively broke the Chinese monopoly on tea production and established India as a global tea hub.