Tangsa women plucking native tea leaves

The Tangsa communities of north-east India have a rich cultural heritage and are the bearers of traditional knowledge and skills of natural food processing and preservation, sustainable cooking, weaving, architecture and basketry. Among these, one of the most fascinating age-old practices that they actively continue till date is that of indigeneous bamboo tea-making. Their traditional process includes plucking tea leaves from their village gardens, and then drying and smoking those inside bamboo tubes, over open fire. This tea is believed to have great medicinal values and is consumed at any time of the day. The Tangsas, along with the Singphos, are known to be the native tea-makers in India, much before the Britishers introduced it commercially.