The link between tea and golf

The first flush is just starting and while I wait for these teas, I decided to catch up on some tea history, on tea and golf's shared beginnings here in India.

- Aravinda Anantharaman

Back in the early 19th century, as British planters set up large tea estates, far removed from towns and cities, they needed a place to unwind and relax. The clubs, already a British institution, were the inspiration and several planters' clubs came up. By way of recreation, these clubs offered plenty of sporting opportunities, including, sometimes, a golf course, a game they played at home.

Kolkata got the first golf course outside Britain in 1829. In Assam, the first course came up in Jorhat thanks to tea planter D. Slimmon, who also started the Jorhat Gymkhana Club.