For both tea drinkers and tea farmers in India, monsoon season is also tea season. Generally lasting from June until August, monsoon season brings consistent downpours that account for more than 75% of India’s annual rainfall. Tea farms rely on these rains to grow the tea that much of the country drinks to warm up their gloomy, monsoon days.

Drinking in Nostalgia

A typical day during monsoon season might look like this: wake up to a rainy morning, marvel at the dew-soaked surroundings, and get cozy with some breakfast. The gentle dark skies, cool breeze, and incessant showers bring back memories and cravings for steaming hot Royal Masala Chai! Pairing that cup of chai with crispy hot pakoras is tradition. You just can't make the most of monsoon season without enjoying that perfect combo of sweet and savory!

Monsoons in India don’t just represent a change in the season, but also a change in lifestyle. Images of the bustling narrow lanes of Mumbai, the lush green cascades of Coorg, the tea-filled plains of Assam, and the dry scorching lands of Rajasthan come to mind. After the brutal heat of summer, the heavy rains bring a breath of fresh air across the country.

Making the Most of Monsoons

Assam feels the effects of monsoon season as much as any region in India. Local tea farms depend on the strong rains to provide sufficient water to yield the finest quality teas. Thankfully, nature never fails to deliver all the rain we need for the harvest. But no monsoon season is exactly the same.

 The timing and duration of each year’s season impacts the quality of the yield:

• An early start to the monsoon decreases the tea’s quality
• Greater rainfall during the season helps produce the best tea
• Variations in temperature are known to affect tea yield and alter the complex balance of chemicals that gives tea its flavor and nutritional content.

When drinking tea, we are consuming a beverage that is grounded to a specific time and a specific place. The flavor of each cup owes itself to when and where it was grown. Each tea leaf has roughly fifty chemicals unique to that year’s harvest that determine the taste and nutrition. That makes monsoon season and Assam Tea so tightly linked.

Try It At Home

To recreate the romantic feeling of enjoying tea during Indian monsoon season, brew a cup of our soothing Royal Masala Chai blend on a chilly, rainy day. Combined with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves, a cup of chai will kick-start your day with an immunity boost and keep the monsoon blues at bay!