The
Camellia sinensis was stolen..that is true..but it never grew in India because of the climatic differences. But the tea from Assam is
Camellia assamica a different species altogether. It was discovered 10 years after it was smuggled by Fortune. Robert Bruce discovered tea in Assam, and the British were confused because it looked and tasted different from the Chinese tea.
Tea production in India started with the identification of tea germplasm in the state of Assam in 1823 by Robert Bruce. Consequently, the most of the global cultivated area for tea has received its basic planting material directly or indirectly from the enhanced germplasm in India
[2]. The cultivated tea varieties of south India belong to different species such as
Camellia sinensis,
Camellia assamica and
Camellia assamica spp.
lasiocalyx[3].Although the exact origin of tea cultivars is still a subject of debate, the varietal differentiation relies on their geographical origins in terms of provenance from China, Assam or Cambod. However, all caffeine-producing teas were also classified under the name
C. sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze, irrespective of their taxonomic variation
[4],
[5],
[6] and
[7].
Genetic diversity among south Indian tea germplasm (Camellia sinensis, C. assamica and C. assamica spp. lasiocalyx) using AFLP markers
And a link to this BBC documentary...hope you can view it as its on youtube. Go to 32 min...