The Origin of Singpho Tea.
‘Long ago, two Singpho brothers went hunting deep in the forest in Assam. Wandering through jungle, they could not find any animals due to which they ran out of life saving food and water. Tired, hungry and thirsty, they had no strength to walk and decided to rest next to a small tree plant. In desperation, they reached out to the leaves of the tree and ate them. To thei
r utmost surprise and delight, they felt better shortly after ate the leaves. They were not hungry and thirsty anymore. One of the brothers asked the reasonable question: ‘Pha lap’? Pha means ‘what’ and lap means ‘leaf’ in Singpho language. They plugged the seeds and planted it at home. Very soon every Singpho learned value of those leaves and PHALAP become the word ‘Tea’’. - This is how Rajesh Singpho (Gudung) narrates the story of the advent of Tea among the Singpho in upper Assam. (Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West) by Beatrice Hohenegger
"The role of Singpho tribe with the early development of tea industry in the state is very important. The Singphos discovered wild tea in Assam. They were aware of its medicinal values. Thus they developed indigenous method of tea preparation and a habit of tea drinking. Singpho chief, Beesa Gaum, first showed a wild growing tea plant to Robert Bruce in 1823. This eventually led to the establishment of a robust tea industry in Assam. A detailed account of tea drinking and method of preparation among the tribes of Assam in the early days is available on William Robinson’s ‘Descriptive Account of Assam’ (1841) as:‘Tea has hitherto been the favorite beverage of these hill tribes in whose vicinity the wild plant has been found. The Singphos have long known and drank the tea, but their mode of preparing it is very different from that we have already described. The young and tender leaves are first plucked and dried in the sun; by some they are exposed alternately to the night dews, and the heat of the sun for three successive days; whilst by others they are put into flat hot fans and turned about till quite dry. This done the leaves are placed in the hollow of a bamboo and driven firmly down by means of a stick, the bamboo being at the same time held in the heat of a fire, when full, the ends of the bamboos are tied up with leaves, and hung up in places where they may be exposed to the smoke of the fire. Thus prepared, the tea is said to keep good for years". SINGPHO HERITAGE TEA produces authentic natural and traditional Singpho PHALAP(Tea).
