Kolkata, May 24 (PTI) Amid falling auction prices, climate-related disruptions and changing beverage preferences, an Assam-based tea estate is seeking to reposition tea from a daily commodity to a cultural and experiential product through factory visits, tasting sessions and immersive consumer engagement initiatives.
Amchong Tea Estate has launched 'Amchong Leaf', which it claims is India's first dedicated tea experience centre, offering visitors guided estate walks, factory tours, tea-tasting sessions, interactions with workers involved in the manufacturing process, and audio-visual presentations.
The initiative comes at a time when India's tea industry is facing mounting pressure from rising input costs, erratic weather conditions and stagnant auction price realisations despite record exports in 2025.
Amchong Tea Director Ananya Khemka told PTI that the idea behind the experience centre was about reconnecting consumers with tea than generating immediate commercial returns.
Located on the outskirts of Guwahati, the centre seeks to familiarise visitors with the journey of tea from leaf to cup.
The Khemka family-run estate, operational since 1958, spans around 1,782 acres near Guwahati and produces over 1 million kg of tea annually.
The estate has engaged architect Yashaswini Apte, known for projects such as Mumbai Airport Terminal 2 and the Jio World Centre, to design the space. The facility incorporates bamboo screens, woven partitions and exposed brick finishes inspired by the surrounding landscape.
Khemka said visitors can participate in tea blending and tasting sessions, observe tea processing through viewing galleries and take vehicle rides across estate routes. The estate's restaurant, Steep House, also serves tea-infused food and beverages prepared using ingredients sourced from its kitchen garden.
"We wanted to open up tea to the world and allow people to experience tea at the source, not just consume it as a packaged product," Khemka said.
"Most consumers know tea only as a daily beverage. Very few understand the journey from garden to cup. Tea as an industry has traditionally focused more on production than consumer engagement, and we felt there was a need to bridge that gap," he said.
Industry observers said tea tourism and experiential consumption have been gaining traction globally, particularly in premium beverage segments where origin, wellness and lifestyle value increasingly influence consumer choices.
Experiential tea tourism could help create greater appreciation for orthodox and speciality teas, especially among younger urban consumers increasingly drawn towards the cafe culture and premium coffee experiences, they said.
Khemka said formats such as ‘matcha’ and ‘bubble tea’ have demonstrated globally that tea can evolve beyond traditional consumption patterns while retaining its cultural roots.
"Through curated experiences, we see that when young consumers go beyond 'chai' and experience tea at the source, their understanding becomes much deeper from how it is grown and made to its flavours and craftsmanship. This often changes how they see tea," he said.
Khemka added that wellness-oriented blends and speciality teas are also finding favour among health-conscious younger consumers.
Since 2016, the estate has diversified from conventional CTC teas into orthodox whole-leaf varieties, reflecting a broader industry shift towards premium and speciality teas.
India is the world's second-largest tea producer and third-largest exporter, contributing nearly 19 per cent of global tea output. However, organised tea estates continue to face pressure from shrinking margins, rising labour and input costs, and weather volatility.
The Indian Tea Association had recently said that auction prices have failed to keep pace with escalating production costs, while extreme weather events have affected crop yields in key tea-growing regions.
Association chairman Hemant Bangur welcomed such initiatives, and said: "Any idea which promotes tea consumption is welcome, and the experience should be rewarding and enriching."
Industry analysts believe experiential projects such as tea tourism and estate-based consumer engagement could help strengthen domestic appreciation for premium teas, while creating new interest around its consumption.
Unlike conventional tourism models centred only on scenic plantation visits, the initiative attempts to familiarise visitors with different stages of tea production, including plucking, withering, rolling and tasting, said Khemka.
Khemka said the response from younger visitors has been "encouraging".
"We strongly believe curated experiences like these will help change the way tea is perceived. Tea in India is widely consumed, but it is still not fully appreciated for its diversity, craftsmanship and origin," he said.
"Through these experiences, consumers can go beyond everyday tea consumption and understand tea in a more complete and meaningful way," he added.
According to industry insiders, while such ventures may not address the structural challenges facing tea plantations, these could contribute to long-term demand creation by building stronger consumer awareness and emotional engagement around tea.