A decades-old friendship, two tea families and the making of India’s first commercial matcha

Walking through Chota Tingrai Tea Estate in Assam’s Tinsukia district, one is greeted by the sight of vast tea plantations. By 7:30 am, the estate is alive with the activity of tea workers. Inside the factory, however, an unusual transformation is underway. Assam-grown leaves are being processed into matcha, a tea with deep Japanese roots.

The idea originated with fourth-generation tea planter Mrityunjay Jalan, who, while studying in Singapore, was introduced to Japanese green teas. This sparked his interest in whether Assam, known for its black tea, could produce a green tea akin to Japan’s. This curiosity stemmed from observing the difference between the commercially produced green teas available in India and the authentic Japanese green teas he had experienced.

Jalan began experimenting with creating authentic green tea. This process was facilitated by a long-standing friendship between two tea-growing families. In the 1980s, Ichiro Hara of Japan’s Ume-no-En tea company visited Assam, meeting Jalan’s father. Hara’s son, Shoji, accompanied him. The Jalans, already deeply entrenched in Assam’s tea industry, formed a lasting bond with the Haras.

This friendship led to the establishment of a Japanese-style green tea facility at Chota Tingrai in 2016, after years of experimentation and learning from Japanese specialists.

The production of matcha at Chota Tingrai began in 2026 after extensive training and adaptation to the unique conditions of Assam. Workers initially learned about matcha-making, a process quite different from the black tea they had previously produced. One of the key lessons was the importance of preserving the freshness of the leaves, a stark contrast to the withering process used for black tea.

Through years of practice and guidance from Japanese tea experts, Chota Tingrai successfully began commercial production of matcha, marking a new chapter in its century-old tea tradition.