Top Tea Brands in India

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A sip of tea relaxes the human mind as no other beverage does. Tea is the favourite drink of India. Mornings in India are incomplete without a cup of tea for most Indians. Tea is the best companion of biscuits and bread. When it comes to tea brands in India, Tata Tea tops the list. However, other companies are situated in and out of the country and performing well in the Indian market. The tea industry is one of the main avenues from which India earns foreign exchange. The tea industry handsomely contributes to the Gross National Product. India can currently be regarded as one of the global leaders when it comes to the production, export and consumption of tea.

India accounts for almost 30 per cent of the global production of tea. India is the second-largest producer of tea and the largest consumer as well. Tea is also the only domain where India has been globally prominent in the last one and a half centuries. The tea industry in this South Asian country offers a wide range of products such as the original orthodox version, green tea and CTC (Crush, Tear and Curl).

There are several locations where tea is grown in India. Tea is native to the northern and eastern parts of the country; however, the production has increased substantially now. The tea grown in Darjeeling is more flavoured and aromatic than the tea cultivated in the Nilgiris and Assam, which is comparatively stronger.

Major Tea Manufacturing Processes in India:

  • Orthodox
  • CTC
CTC stands for Crush, Tear, and Curl and the tea that is produced in this manner is primarily used in teabags.

Five Main Stages of Orthodox Production of Tea:
  • Withering
  • Drying
  • Rolling
  • Storing
  • Fermentation

List of the Top Tea Brands in India


Following are the leading tea brands in India:

Tata Tea

Tata Tea is a product of Tata Global Beverages Limited, which was set up in 1962 as a joint venture of James Finlay and Company and Tata Sons.

Tata Tea Products:
  • Tata Tea Gold
  • Tata Tea Premium
  • Tata Tea Agni
  • Tata Tea Life
The company currently operates in all the continents of the world. Its other brands are mentioned below:
  • Tetley
  • Vitax
  • Good Earth
  • Jemca
  • Eight O’clock Coffee
  • Tata Coffee
  • Himalayan Water
  • Joekels
  • Grand

Brooke Bond Taaza

Brooke Bond Taaza is a famous and popular tea brand from the British-Dutch consumer care conglomerate called Unilever. Taaza is the name given to a new type of tea introduced by the Brooke Bond tea company. The tea leaves of Taaza provide a unique taste and much-needed refreshment to the minds of people. It is a strong tea. Four variants of Brooke Bond Taaza Tea available in the market are mentioned below:
  •   Taaza Dust (Popular Segment)
  •   Taaza Leaf (Popular Segment)
  •   Taaza Gold (Premium Segment)
  •   Taaza Masala Chaska(Premium Segment)

Brooke Bond Red Label

Like 'Taaza', Brooke Bond Red Label is also another popular tea brand from Unilever. It has been comforting the taste buds of millions around the world since 1869. It is a special tea processed from the tea leaves procured from Assam. The strong taste and the aroma of Red Label are simply unmatchable. Brooke Bond Red Label is available in four variants:
  •   Red Label
  •   Red Label Natural Care
  •   Red Label Dust
  •   Red Label Special

Lipton Green Tea

Lipton Green Tea is a Lipton product. The company was named Thomas J. Lipton Co. at the time of its inception in 1890. Its factory and head offices are in Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.A. With people across the globe becoming more health-conscious, the demand for green tea has gone up manifoldly in recent years. Consequently, Lipton introduced a green tea variant that became an instant hit amongst green tea lovers. Following are some of its other major brands:
  • Lipton Iced Tea
  • Lipton Fresh Brew Iced Tea
  • Lipton Tea & Honey
  • Lipton Iced Tea Mixes
  • Lipton Flavored Black Tea
  • Lipton Black Tea
  • Lipton Herbal Tea
  • Lipton White and Red Tea

Pataka Tea

Pataka Tea is the main product of the beverages division of the well-known Pataka Group founded in 1952. Pataka Tea was set up in 2000 so that the group could venture into the business of packed tea. This company has done fairly well in the tea segment since its inception and has won a lot of appreciation and huge success within a very short period. Following are its other major variants:
  • Pataka Leaf
  • Pataka Dust
  • Pataka Mukta

Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea

Taj Mahal Tea is also a Hindustan Unilever product. Heavenly freshness and the unique taste that one gets after sipping Taj Mahal Tea are the results of the special type of tea leaves that are chosen for this brand. Some of the most famous names in India like Tabla maestro Ustaad Zakir Hussain and Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan have endorsed Taj Mahal Tea. Following are the various products available in this segment:
  • Taj Mahal
  • Taj Mahal Classic
  • Taj Mahal Gold
  • Taj Mahal Nilgiris
  • Taj Mahal Cardamom
  • Taj Mahal Darjeeling
  • Taj Mahal Earl Grey
  • Taj Mahal Ginger
  • Taj Mahal Lemon
  • Taj Mahal Breakfast
  • Taj Mahal Masala
  • Darjeeling Green Tea
  • Earl Grey Green Tea
  • Honey Lemon Green Tea
  • Taj Lemon Flavoured Tea Bags
  • Taj Ginger Flavoured Tea Bags
  • Taj Cardamom Flavoured Tea Bags

Wagh Bakri Tea

Wagh Bakri Tea is a product of Wagh Bakri Tea House, which was incorporated in 1892 in Ahmedabad by Sir Narandas Desai. Wagh Bakri Tea enjoys a huge fan base in the national capital of Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Following are the various categories of products on offer in addition to Wagh Bakri:
  • CTC Tea
  • Pure Darjeeling Tea
  • Green Tea
  • Green Tea Tulsi
  • Green Tea Mint
  • Ice Tea
  • Premium Tea
  • Instant Tea Premix
  • Good Morning
  • Organic Tea
  • WB Perfect
  • Mili

Tulsi Green Tea

Tulsi Green Tea is a unique product from Organic India founded in 1990 by a group of people. Tulsi Green Tea has earned quite a reputation in the herbal tea segment of the Indian tea market. The health-conscious section of the society prefers Tulsi Green Tea over other available brands in the market. This tea helps in maintaining weight and improving metabolism in addition to strengthening immunity. The variants of Tulsi Green Tea available in the market are mentioned below:
  • Tulsi Cleanse
  • Tulsi Lax
  • Tulsi Sleep
  • Tulsi Tummy

Society Tea

Society Tea is a Hasmukh & Co. product. The company was incorporated in 1933. Tea lovers who prefer the taste choose Society Tea. It has got a refreshing aroma that works like a stress buster. The company offers a wide range of tea products that are enumerated below:
  • Society Tea Leaf
  • Society Tea Premium
  • Society Dust Tea
  • Society Ice Tea
  • Society Tea Instant

Tetley Tea

Tetley Tea is a product of the world's second-largest maker of tea – Tetley, which was founded way back in 1837 in England. Today, the India-based Tata Global Beverages Limited owns this company as it bought the entire stake in 2000. One of the most preferred brands of tea in India, Tetley is available in variants:
  • Tetley Tea
  • Tetley Black Tea
  • Tetley Green Tea
  • Tetley Flavoured (Masala) Tea
Following are the other tea brands available in India:
  • McLeod Russel
  • Bagaria
  • Goodricke
  • Jay Shree Tea
  • Ambootia
  • Apeejay Tea
Top Tea Producing States in India
The leading states regarding tea production in India are enumerated below:
  • Assam
  • West Bengal
  • Kerala
  • Meghalaya
  • Karnataka
  • Tamil Nadu

Indian Tea Industry Facts

  • The local tea industry in India has a market value of more than Rs 12000 crores.
  • India's total tea export for FY20 was US$ 826.47 million. India's tea production as of April 2021 is 73.44 million kgs.
  • India is the fourth largest exporter of tea in the world with an annual shipment of 1.38 metric tonnes. The consumption volume of Indian Tea is 1.09 Billion kgs.
  • After independence, the land used for growing tea has increased by 40 per cent, but tea cultivation has gone up by more than 250 per cent.
  • Tea is grown over an aggregate of 115,000 hectares of land area across various parts of the country.
  • Assam alone contributes more than 50 per cent to total tea production in India and 16 percent of the world's total tea.
  • The Indian tea industry is labour-intensive. Currently, there are at least 3.1 million workers employed in various tea companies around the country.
  • The Indian tea industry creates income opportunities for almost another 10 million people.
  • The workforce in the Indian tea industry is equally distributed when it comes to gender.
Last Updated on August 21, 2021