Bangladesh Tea Industry: The Hidden Gem of South Asia’s Tea World

Introduction: A Rising Star in the World of Tea

If the matter comes to tea in Asia, then India, China, and Sri Lanka are often the first that come to mind. However, another powerhouse, Bangladesh, is quietly emerging as home to some of the most aromatic and flavourful teas in the region.

🌿 A Brief History: From Colonial Roots to a National Pride

Tea production started in Bangladesh in the mid-19th century. The British East India established the first tea garden in Sylhet in 1854.

After the liberation war in 1971, the tea garden industry of Bangladesh started to evolve under the supervision of the Bangladesh Tea Board. As a result, this southeast asian country ranked among the top 10 tea-producing countries globally. Bangladesh produces approximately 90 million kilograms of tea every year, which indicates its enduring growth.

Top 10 Tea Producing Countries in the World 2025

Rank	Country	Annual Production	Main Varieties	Area of Growing
1	China	2.97 million	Green tea, Black tea, Oolong tea, White tea, Yellow tea	Yunnan, Zhejiang, Fujian
2	India	1.42 million	Assam, Darjeeling, Nilgiri (Black tea)	Yunnan, Zhejiang, Fujian
3	Kenya	569,500	Black tea	Nandi Hills, Kericho, Nyamira
4	Argentina	335,225	Black tea, Yerba Mate (herbal tea)	Misiones, Corrientes
5	Sri Lanka	278,489	Ceylon tea (Black tea)	Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Uva
6	Turkey	255,183	Black Tea	Rize, Trabzon
7	Indonesia	183,323	Green tea, Black tea, Oolong tea	Thai Nguyen, Moc Chau
8	Vaitnam	121,000	Black tea, Green tea	West Java
9	Bangladesh	96,510	Black Tea,Green tea, Valuaded Tea	Sylhet, Panchagarh, Ctg
10	Japan	89,000	Green tea	Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai

🏞️ Major Tea Regions of Bangladesh

More than 167 tea gardens across Bangladesh grow tea, with the largest amount in the north-east and north-west regions.

• Sylhet & Moulvibazar: This part of Bangladesh is considered the nucleus of the tea industry. Renowned for producing premium black teas.
• Habiganj: Famous for both orthodox and CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) teas.
• Panchagarh: a fairly new territory of the tea industry, which is producing excellent green and black teas in the flatland’s.
• Chattogram: The gardens in Chattogram are comparatively smaller in size, mostly focusing on boutique and specialty teas.

Each particular region of Bangladesh is responsible for providing its distinct colour, aroma, and strength.

🍃 How Bangladesh Tea Is Made: The Craft of Consistency

Likewise, the traditional tea-making process involves withering, rolling, oxidation, and drying; however, with an exclusive regional touch. The devoted black teas are familiar among tea lovers for their brisk flavour. On the other hand, CTC teas have strong liquor – mostly preferred with milk.

Some tea estates of Bangladesh are now experimenting with green tea, white tea, and herbal blends. To make sure of shifting towards variation.

📦 Production & Export: The Economic Backbone

The tea industry has a significant stake in Bangladesh’s economy, employing over 300,000 workers. The most amazing fact is that the tea industry is supporting millions of people directly.

• Yearly production: ~90–95 million kg
• Household consumption: ~85 million kg (Increasing yearly)
• Annually Exports: ~5–10 million kg to over 20 countries

Domestic demand for tea in Bangladesh is rising very fast. Meanwhile, Bangladesh does export speciality teas to the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Russia, and the Middle East.

The Female Dominance in Tea Plucking

The main engima behind Bangladesh tea industry is lied in it’s actual harvest – which is corely driven by women. About two third of the garden worker, in particluar the pluckers are women. Which itself is great indicator of social and financial behavor of the industry.

☕ Flavour Profile: What Makes Bangladeshi Tea Unique

Bangldeshi teas are prominent for their vibrant liquor, vivid color. This place can be compared as a universe of black teas. Tea industry is mostly focused on making in black tea.

• Sylhet teas → full-bodied and brisk
• Panchagarh teas → lighter, smoother flavour
• Organic blends → emerging with clean, earthy tones

Variation in flavour make them perfect for traditional milk tea also speciality brews.

The Unique “Seven-Layer Tea” (Shat Rong Cha)

Srimangal is consider as the heartland of tea in sylhet, a local discovery which popular among people as Shat Rong Cha (Seven-Layer Tea) is becoming a attractive among the tourist.

This particular tea is made by layering seven separte color alongside and flavored tea decoctions and syrups. Moreover, the most astonishing fact is each layer has it’s unique taste,ranging from sweet to spicy.The basic dynamics behind the Shat Rong Cha is to control the density and temparature to keep the layers seprate.

⚙️ Challenges Facing the Tea Industry

Even though the Bangladesh tea industry has a huge amount of potential, it faces hurdles:

• Climate change remains the major issue; it affects rainfall and yield.
  Many tea gardens consist of ageing tea bushes.
• Limited scope of mechanisation and AI adoption.
• Uprising labour and production costs

A limited number of tea gardens are adopting the art of sustainable farming, AI-inspired monitoring.

🚀 Future Outlook: Sustainability, Innovation & Global Recognition

The Bangladesh tea industry urgently needs to adopt an AI-centred approach to boost productivity. For example, precision agriculture and organic certification are ways to move forward.

Green and White Tea Production

Green tea and White tea are becoming more popular nowadays for their health benefits. Bangladesh’s tea industry has a huge opportunity to explore the health-based tea market.

Expanding Global Markets

Bangladesh’s tea industry needs to get out of the traditional way of thinking, as we are limited to exporting tea in a small number of countries, like as Pakistan and Middle East countries. To secure the future, we need to break the boundaries to explore the global market. For this, we need to focus on premium quality teas alongside the black teas.

🌏 Conclusion: A Tea Legacy Ready to Shine

From the Sylhet’s foggy hills to Panchagarh’s flat lands , the Bangladesh tea industry reflect the story of resilience, craftsmanship, and pride. As the world looks for authentic, sustainable, and flavourful teas, Bangladesh tea industry is ready to claim its rightful spot on the global tea map.Next time you sip a strong cup of tea, it might just made from the emerald hills of Bangladesh. 🍵

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