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People · Assam
Assam grows a huge share of the world's tea — almost all of it still hand-plucked.
Assam's tea gardens have shaped the region's economy and rural life since the 19th century, and despite growing mechanization elsewhere, hand-plucking remains central to quality-leaf production on smaller estates.
It's slow, repetitive, skilled labor — pluckers learn to select exactly the right leaf and bud, at exactly the right stage, hundreds of times an hour, every working day of the season.
Spending a few days plucking and processing tea alongside a family like Momi Gogoi's, rather than just drinking the finished product, puts a very physical face on something most people encounter only as a bag in hot water.