Assam’s Tea Gardens

There are about 200 thousand small tea growers in India, with an average holding size around one ha of land. These small growers currently contribute 52% of India’s total tea production.

Small tea processing units cater to the needs of these growers, becoming essential components of the tea industry. The Tea Board of India is actively encouraging the establishment of mini tea factories (up to 500kg of tea per day*) because they emphasize sustainability, and eco-friendly processing methods, contribute significantly to rural incomes, and often focus on producing organic and artisanal teas. However, these small-scale tea factories face several challenges, including access to financing, maintaining product standardization (especially for low-capacity processing), skill development, losses due to sudden power outages, lack of energy security, and limitations in market expansion.

Tea production is an energy-intensive operation, requiring between 4.45 to 6.84 kWh of thermal power and 0.4 to 0.7 kWh of electrical power to produce just 1 kg of finished tea. Mini-tea factories, which typically have smaller batch sizes, tend to consume even more energy per kilogram due to their low-capacity operations. This results in higher specific energy consumption, both thermal and electrical, compared to larger, more standardized units. Therefore, mini tea factories are ideal candidates for adopting Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) or Solar solutions, which can provide energy security, reduce recurring energy costs, and ensure uninterrupted processing, particularly in remote rural areas.