Tea

Where does Tea grow?

Found in: Africa, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burundi, Cambodia, Caucasus, China, East Africa, East Timor, Ethiopia, Europe, Fiji, Georgia, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Northeastern India, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Russia, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Sikkim, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tasmania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Uganda, United States, Vietnam, Zimbabwe

Notes: Green tea is made from freshly cut leaves and black tea is made from leaves which have been fermented. There are about 250-300 Camellia species. Tea contains about 50 mg of caffeine per cup. It has anticancer properties. Green tea probably helps against Cardiovascular Disease. Black tea has 21.1 mg per 100 g dry weight and 18.3 mg fresh weight of alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E).

Growing Tea

Cultivation: Plants are normally grown by cuttings or layering. They can be grown from seed. Because the seed out breed, this produces a mixture of plants. For seed production special trees are kept and not pruned. The capsule matures after 9-12 months. Seed need to be sown fresh. Seeds can be sown in a nursery and transplanted, or sown and staked in the field. When seedlings are about 3-4 years old they are pruned back to about 10 cm from the ground then transplanted. From cuttings short stem cuttings with a single leaf and its bud in the leaf axil are used. These are grown in moist, shaded propagating nurseries. The cuttings are transplanted after about 1 year. Tea is commercially planted at 5,000-7,000 plants per hectare. That is a spacing of 1.2 m by 1.5 m. Trees are pruned to encourage side branches. The bush height is normally pruned to about 60 cm. The leaves grow in flushes at 70-90 day cycles. Two to four leaves are plucked each 7-14 days from the tree but only every 70-90 days from any one branch shoot. Plants are pruned back each 2-5 years.

Edible Uses: The leaves are used for tea. The leaves are fermented and eaten in Burma. They are prepared as a vegetable by mixing with garlic, salt, oil and other ingredients. The oil from the seeds is used as a sweetish seasoning and cooking oil.

Production: Young tips are plucked, then wilted on trays for 18-24 hours, then crushed between rollers and fermented for 18-24 hours before drying at 100°C for half an hour. A shrub can live for 100 years.

Nutrition Info

Tea Photos

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