India tea

219 India teas from 13 independent UK tea merchants, from £2.50.

India is the origin most UK drinkers already know, even if only through the teabag. Three regions define it: Assam, in the humid northeast, gives the brisk, malty, full-bodied black tea that anchors most English Breakfast blends; Darjeeling, high in the Himalayan foothills, yields the prized “Champagne of teas” — light, muscatel and floral, sold by flush (first flush in spring is delicate, second flush richer); and the Nilgiris in the south give fragrant, brisk everyday teas. India also makes the robust CTC that powers masala chai. For UK buyers, single-estate Darjeelings and Assams from independent merchants are a revelation next to commodity blends — look for the garden name and the flush.