 | M/A 10 - The Tea Plantposted by TeaHouseTimes Admin, ADVERTISER TEA RELATED PRODUCTSSaturday, April 17th 2010 @ 3:07 PM |
From the Mar/Apr10 issue of The Tea House Times. To view the most recent issue, please register / log-in at http://www.theteahousetimes.com for free access.
Exploring the world of tea is a fascinating adventure and one that begins with the cultivation and harvest of the plant itself. It may surprise many to learn that all tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Where it is grown and how it is processed determines the type of tea. Both the Chinese tea plant and its cousin, the wild Assam tea plant, which was discovered growing in India’s Upper Assam region in the nineteenth century, are Camellia sinensis, albeit different varieties of the same genus. The Assam plant is a subspecies called Camellia assamica.
The original Chinese plant, cultivated for centuries in its native country, is smaller and more cold-resistant with smaller, rounder leaves. The Assam tea plant can grow to be thirty feet tall, has larger leaves and produces a darker, more intensely flavored tea. Although it grows more prolifically, the Assam plant is more sensitive to the cold. For generations, the tea plant was believed to be indigenous only to China and Assam, but we now know that it is native to Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Tibet, too. (In Myanmar and Cambodia, the variety is called Camellia assamica subspecies lasiocalyx.)
Over time, the two plant varieties have been cross-cultivated for hybrids of varying size and sturdiness. Not surprisingly, tea plants with more of the characteristics of the original Chinese plant are grown in China, Taiwan, and Japan, while those with the characteristics of the Assam plant are grown in India, Sri Lanka, Australia, South America, and Africa. Naturally there are exceptions to these generalities.
Tea is grown in more than forty countries, although most aficionados agree that the best teas in the world come from only five: China, Japan, Taiwan, India, and Sri Lanka. Also worth noting are Kenya, Malawi, Indonesia, Turkey, and Argentina, for the great quantities exported.
*Taken from Serendipitea by Tomislav Podreka. Used by Permission. www.serendipitea.com
