AS great Scottish discoveries go, it might not be on a par with the telephone, penicillin or television. However, Scotland’s contribution to the British love affair with tea has finally been given the recognition that it deserves.

The government of the Indian province of Assam has concluded that Robert Bruce, a previously unheralded Scots adventurer, was single- handedly responsible for bringing char to the masses.

It plans to right this historical wrong next month and is searching for Bruce’s descendants to invite them to a special ceremony to honour their ancestor’s role in creating the traditional cuppa.

Bruce, a major in the East India Company, made his discovery in 1823 at a time when Britain’s expensive taste for China tea had created a worrying trade deficit with the Chinese.

The race was on for an alternative source when Bruce met the chief of the Singphow tribe during a trade tour through the hills surrounding Rangpur. He saw the tribal leader drinking an infusion from a plant bearing a striking resemblance to Chinese tea.

The chief agreed to supply Bruce with plants and seeds during his next visit, but unfortunately the adventurer died before he could return and it was left to his brother Charles to fulfil his destiny.

He visited Singphow the following year, collected plants and seeds, planted some in his own hill garden, sent some to the commissioner of Assam, Major F Jenkins, and some for testing at the botanical gardens in Calcutta.

The tests confirmed that the plant was of the camellia tea family but was distinct from the Chinese varieties.

Bruce’s discovery flourished in his brother’s gardens, with the Assam teas considered to be finer than their Chinese rivals. He went on to be appointed superintendent of government tea plantations and transformed the hills of Assam into a thriving tea industry.

However, it was not until 1939 that the first shipment of Assam tea was auctioned in London, marking the start of Britain’s love affair with the brown malty tea and the end of our affair with green Chinese leaves.

Bruce’s brother received the English Society of Arts medal for his role in discovering Indian tea, but a series of rival claims followed.

The Assam commissioner to whom Bruce sent his first sample claimed to be the discoverer while another officer, Captain Charlton, also filed a claim.

Some believe the original discovery was made by Maniram Dewan, a local worthy.

Charlton and Jenkins were rewarded with medals. The only figure who was overlooked was Bruce. It is this oversight that the Assam state government wants to put right.

“There were a number of people claiming to have discovered tea, but the most credible claim is that of Major Robert Bruce, and that’s why we want to celebrate his role at our tea festival and invite his descendants along to celebrate it,” said J S Rao, deputy commissioner for Assam’s Jorhat district.

“It’s time to put the record straight. We owe him and his family some recognition.”

Assam today has 750 tea gardens and tea is the state’s biggest source of income.

Britain is the largest per capita consumer of tea in the world, averaging about four cups per day. In Scotland almost 90% of households are tea drinkers, consuming up to 14m cups a day.

Both Charles and Robert Bruce are believed to have been buried in India but little is known of their backgrounds in Scotland. Like many Scots, they emigrated to India under the patronage of Henry Dundas, the Edinburgh-born statesman who brought the East India Company under the supervision of parliament.

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