The smoothness and rejuvenating qualities of Assam tea have won the hearts of tourists and tea lovers from Japan at Heritage tea factory in Dibrugarh district of Upper Assam.

Rajen Baruah, the founder and managing director of Heritage Tea Co Pvt Ltd, said, “They are fascinated by Assam tea and have been coming to us regularly. The tourists were from areas like Tokyo, Kyoto, Chikoku, Shibuya and Kamakura.”

In a note, the tourists had said they were “highly impressed with the local herbal heritage green teas”.

They liked the handmade orthodox tea and could not resist a second helping.

After intense discussion they said it was smooth and made them feel warm and rejuvenated instantly.

Baruah said there was hope and potential of Assam tea captivating the taste buds of the Japanese.

“They take a lot of interest in drinking their tea. I was really fascinated and happy to see this,” he told The Telegraph.

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is visiting Assam and Manipur from December 15-17 and the Assam government has started beautification work in Guwahati.

The itinerary is yet to be released.

Bidyananda Barkakoty, the adviser to the North Eastern Tea Association, said like India, Japan is a tea producing country as well as tea consuming country. Therefore, both the countries can share their technology and brainstorm on increasing tea consumption worldwide.

“India and Japan make different kinds of tea and therefore we are not really competitors in the international market. Sharing of knowledge and interaction will help both the countries,” Barkakoty said.

“Demand for Indian black tea is growing in China and Japan can be a potential market for us,” he said.

Mrigendra Jalan of Jalan Industries, which has a long association with Japan, said, “We should look at tech transfer and upgrade our field and factory technology. That is a big area where they can help us.”

Jalan has been working with the Japanese from 1979 and has a Japanese expert working at Chota Tingrai estate in Tinsukia district. Chota Tingrai is the only garden in the country which makes matcha tea.

The garden has a 100 per cent automated Japanese green tea factory called the Hara Green Tea Factory dedicated to the memory of Ichiro Hara, his Japanese mentor since 1979.

Tocklai Tea Research Institute has been working with Kawasaki Kiko and Co. and Ochiai Tea Cutlery Co. Ltd for quite some time on the mechanisation of the Indian tea industry.

“We from TRA are happy on the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abe Shinzo Japanese PM to Assam on December 15-16. Wish the summit all success,” it tweeted.