TeaTeaTea - About Camellia Sinesis

Camellia Sinensis, the tea plant, is indigenous to both China and parts of India. Wild tea plants can grow 90 feet and above.In the past monkeys were trained to pick leaves and throw them down where they were collected. Today plants are cultivated as a plantation crop and therefore the plants are kept to a height of about three feet , for easy picking.

There are over 2000 varieties of tea. Although tea is produced in more than 25 countries, the major producers include China,India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, and Sri Lanka . It was during Chinas' Tang Dynasty[6816-906B.C.] that tea became the national beverage of choice. Buddhist priests are thought to have been responsible for spreading the cultivation of tea throughout China and Japan.The three main categories of are black, green , and oolong. Within each of these categories there are many varieties.Black and green teas come from the same tea plant species, the difference being the processing procedure that each leaf undergoes . Black tea undergo several hours of oxidation before drying.Green tea is steamed immediately after picking to stop oxidation.
Oolong (green/black)tea is partialy fermented to preserve some of green teas' delicate flavor and add richer flavor of black tea .


All teas should be stored in airtight containers out of direct sunlight so that they do not loose their flavor or take on foreign aromas

Some of the most famous tea producing regions are:
Assam,Ceylon , Darjeeling ,Fujian , Kericho , Yunnan

Teas are flavored with variety of dried fruits and citrus oils.
Most popular is oil of Bergamot - a citrus tree native to Italy.

Chamomile , lemongrass , pepermint etc. are called "Herbal Teas"
or "Tisanes" and there are many blends available.......

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