Assam's Singpho tribe drank tea centuries before British discovery
Tea in India wasn’t a British discovery, the Singpho tribe of Assam had been drinking it since the 12th century. Their unique brew, phalap, made by smoking tea leaves in bamboo, predates colonial plantations by centuries. This rich tradition shows that India’s tea culture is indigenous, with the Singphos as its true pioneers, not the British.