Scientists from Tocklai Experimental Station have developed four new tea clones which are promised to preserve and enhance Assam tea’s unique qualities and taste while making plants hardier and higher yielding. 

The director of the Tea Research Association said that the clones are slated to be released this  autumn rather than waiting the mandatory 12 years because  “time is short”. 

The clones have been in development for five years, and critics had expressed skepticism over the announcement, saying that the largest tea experimentation and research center based in Jorhat had not yet developed a viable clone.