The Tea Plant | tea plant
TheteaplantisanevergreenoftheCamelliafamilythatisnativetoChina,TibetandnorthernIndia.Therearetwomainvarietiesoftheteaplant.Thesmallleafvariety,knownasCamelliasinensis,thrivesinthecool,highmountainregionsofcentralChinaandJapan.Thebroadleafvariety,knownasCamelliaassamica,growsbestinthemoist,tropicalclimatesfoundinNortheastIndiaandtheSzechuanandYunnanprovincesofChina.Theplantproducesdarkgreen,shinyleavesandsmall,whiteblossoms.AccordingtoanoldChinesesaying,"superiorteacomesfromhighmountains".The...
The tea plant is an evergreen of the Camellia family that is native to China, Tibet and northern India. There are two main varieties of the tea plant. The small leaf variety, known as Camellia sinensis, thrives in the cool, high mountain regions of central China and Japan. The broad leaf variety, known as Camellia assamica, grows best in the moist, tropical climates found in Northeast India and the Szechuan and Yunnan provinces of China. The plant produces dark green, shiny leaves and small, white blossoms.
According to an old Chinese saying, "superior tea comes from high mountains". The altitude and mountain mists help shield against too much sunlight and provide the proper temperature and humidity to allow the leaves to develop slowly and remain tender. As with wine, the quality and taste of a particular tea is influenced by both the environment (soil, climate, and altitude) and the tea maker (who decides when and how the leaf is plucked and how it is processed).
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