About International Tea Day
International Tea Day is marked every 21 May, in 2027 on Friday, 21 May 2027. The UN General Assembly adopted the date in December 2019 after years of pushing by tea-producing countries, India among them, and FAO leads it. A separate tea day on 15 December, started in New Delhi in 2005, is still observed by some producer countries and trade unions.
India drinks most of what it grows. That single fact explains why tea here is not a luxury export crop but a daily household expense, and why a price rise at the Guwahati auction eventually shows up in a roadside cup.
Why are there two International Tea Days?
Because the day started outside the UN system and was later adopted inside it.
The first version came out of trade unions and small growers' organisations, who held an International Tea Day on 15 December 2005 in New Delhi to raise the conditions of plantation workers. It continued in producer countries for years.
India then took the idea into the Food and Agriculture Organization's Intergovernmental Group on Tea, the body where producing and consuming countries negotiate. A coalition including India, Kenya, China and Indonesia built support through 2017 and 2018, and the group settled on 21 May, a date that falls in the plucking season in most growing countries rather than out of it. The UN General Assembly adopted 21 May in December 2019 and asked FAO to lead the observance. The first UN International Tea Day was in 2020.
If you see both dates quoted, neither is wrong. 21 May is the UN date. 15 December is still marked by some unions and producer bodies, and its focus has always been workers rather than the drink.
How big is Indian tea, in real numbers?
Tea Board of India figures for the calendar year 2024 put national production at 1,284.78 million kg, down from 1,393.66 million kg in 2023, a fall of 108.88 million kg blamed largely on weather. Assam alone produced 649.84 million kg of that, roughly half the country's tea, after a drop of 38.49 million kg from its 2023 figure.
Globally, FAO estimates world tea production at about 7.3 million tonnes, an annual production value near 19.5 billion US dollars, and says more than 13 million people depend on the sector. Smallholders, not large estates, account for about 60 per cent of world production, a share that has been climbing in India too as small tea growers in upper Assam and the Nilgiris sell green leaf to bought-leaf factories.
| Region | What it is known for | How it is usually drunk |
|---|---|---|
| Assam | Strong, malty, mostly CTC; about half of India's crop | Strong with milk and sugar; the base of most Indian chai |
| Darjeeling | Light, muscatel, orthodox, first flush and second flush; GI protected | Without milk, brewed briefly |
| Nilgiris | Fragrant, brisk, grown year-round at height in Tamil Nadu | Both as plain tea and in South Indian milk tea |
| Kangra | Small Himachal growing area, orthodox green and black | Usually plain, often local |
| Kashmir | Not a growing region, but its own tea culture | Kahwa with saffron and almond; noon chai, pink and salted |
Who picks the tea, and what do they earn?
Plucking is done almost entirely by hand, and mostly by women. In Assam the workforce descends largely from communities brought to the gardens from central India in the nineteenth century, known today as the Adivasi or tea tribe communities, who live on the estates across generations.
Their conditions are governed by the Plantations Labour Act, 1951, which applies to plantations of five hectares or more employing at least fifteen workers, and which puts housing, drinking water, medical facilities, creches and working hours on the employer rather than the state. In practice, enforcement is uneven and the housing and health provisions are the parts most often found wanting.
Wages are set by state governments and revised in steps. In Assam's Brahmaputra Valley the daily wage moved from 197 rupees before 2021 to 205, then 232, then 250, and to 280 rupees from 1 April 2026; Barak Valley moved to 258 rupees on the same date. Unions have argued for years that these figures sit below the state's own minimum wage calculations for other work, and the gap remains the central dispute in the industry.
How does India actually drink tea?
Chai as most Indians make it, leaves boiled with milk, sugar and spice, is a relatively recent mass habit. The industry spent decades promoting tea at home, because the crop had been planted for export and needed a domestic market. Railway platforms and mill gates did the rest.
The local versions are worth knowing before you write to anyone:
- Cutting chai in Mumbai, half a glass, drunk standing.
- Irani chai in Hyderabad, with Osmania biscuits, in cafes run by Iranian families.
- Sulaimani in Malabar and the Gulf-facing coast, black with lemon and sometimes cardamom, after a heavy meal.
- Noon chai in Kashmir, pink from a long boil with soda, finished with salt.
- Lal cha in Bengal and Assam, plain black with lemon.
- Kadak chai at a north Indian stall, boiled long, poured high.
What should you write on International Tea Day?
Happy International Tea Day. Nobody makes it the way you do, and I have finally accepted that the secret is boiling it far longer than any recipe allows.
International Tea Day today, which made me think of the two hundred cups we drank on that terrace arguing about nothing. Video call this evening?
Happy International Tea Day. Between us we have kept the office kettle running all year. Four o'clock, usual place.
Wishing you well on International Tea Day. Your cutting has started more of my mornings than any alarm clock.
Happy International Tea Day. A hard season for the gardens, and you kept the quality up anyway. Here is to better rain and better prices.
21 May is International Tea Day. Assam grows about half of India's tea, and the people who pick it are paid a daily wage set by the state. Worth reading up on before the next cup.
International Tea Day today. I still remember the flask you carried on every train journey and the steel cups. Tea has not tasted like that since.
Other pages you may want: World Food Day on 16 October, Assam Day on 2 December, and Bohag Bihu, the Assamese new year that falls in the middle of the first flush.
How to wish someone on International Tea Day
This is one of the few awareness days where a warm, ordinary message works, because tea in India is already a way of showing affection. A good line names the chai that belongs to that person: the flask your father carried, the cutting outside the office, the kahwa at a Kashmiri wedding. If you want the day to mean more than nostalgia, add one line about the people who pick the leaf, because their wages are the live issue in the industry.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is International Tea Day in 2026 and 2027?
International Tea Day is on 21 May every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is International Tea Day in 2027?
International Tea Day 2027 falls on Friday, 21 May 2027.
Why is International Tea Day on 21 May and not 15 December?
Both dates exist. 15 December was the original International Tea Day, started by trade unions and small growers in New Delhi in 2005 and focused on plantation workers. 21 May is the United Nations date, adopted in December 2019 after tea-producing countries took the proposal through FAO's Intergovernmental Group on Tea, and it falls in the plucking season for most producers.
Which Indian state produces the most tea?
Assam, by a wide margin. Tea Board of India figures put Assam's 2024 production at 649.84 million kg out of a national total of 1,284.78 million kg, which is about half the country's crop. West Bengal, including Darjeeling and the Dooars, is second, with Tamil Nadu and Kerala the main southern producers.
What is the difference between CTC and orthodox tea?
CTC stands for crush, tear, curl, a machine process that turns leaf into small granules which brew strong and fast. It suits milk tea, which is why most Indian chai uses it. Orthodox tea is rolled to keep the leaf more whole, brews lighter and more aromatic, and is what Darjeeling, Kangra and much of the export trade is made of.
What do tea garden workers in Assam earn?
Daily wages are fixed by the state government and revised in steps. In the Brahmaputra Valley the rate rose to 280 rupees a day from 1 April 2026, and in the Barak Valley to 258 rupees. Unions have long argued these rates fall short of the state's own minimum wage for comparable work, and the dispute is ongoing.
Is Darjeeling tea protected by law?
Yes. Darjeeling tea holds a geographical indication, so only tea grown in the defined area of Darjeeling district can be sold under the name. Assam orthodox, Nilgiri orthodox and Kangra teas also carry geographical indication protection.
How should an office mark International Tea Day?
Something better than a tea-tasting photo. Buy a small grower's or estate tea directly for the pantry, read up on what your usual brand pays for green leaf, or invite someone from the trade to talk about the season. If you do hold a tasting, put the origin of each tea on the table.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .