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Camellia sinensis, the tea plant, is the species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
 whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea
Tea

Tea refers to the agricultural products of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods....
. It is of the genus Camellia
Camellia

Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are native to eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Japan and Indonesia....
 , a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae
Theaceae

The Theaceae is a family of flowering plants, composed of shrubs and trees. The Theaceae is part of order Ericales, in the branch of the dicots known as the Asterids....
. White tea
White tea

White tea is the uncured and unoxidized tea leaf. Like green tea, oolong tea and black tea, white tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant....
, green tea
Green tea

'Green tea' is a type of tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis, that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East....
, oolong
Oolong

Oolong is a traditional Chinese tea somewhere between green tea and black tea in oxidation. It ranges from 10% to 70% oxidation.In Chinese tea culture, semi-oxidized oolong teas are collectively grouped as qingch? ....
, pu-erh tea
Pu-erh tea

Pu-erh, Pu'er tea, Puer tea or Bolay tea is a type of tea made from a "large leaf" variety of the tea plant Camellia sinensis and named after Pu'er Hani and Yi Autonomous County County of China near Simao, Yunnan, China....
 and black tea
Black tea

Black tea is a variety of tea that is more oxidization than the oolong, green tea, and White tea varieties.All four varieties are made from leaves of Camellia sinensis. Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less Redox teas....
 are all harvested from this species, but are processed differently to attain different levels of oxidation. Kukicha
Kukicha

Kukicha , or twig tea, is a Japanese blend of green tea made of stems, stalks, and twigs.Kukicha has a mildly nutty, and slightly creamy sweet flavor....
 (twig tea) is also harvested from camellia sinensis, but uses twigs and stems rather than leaves.

The name sinensis means Chinese
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 in Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
.






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Encyclopedia


Camellia sinensis, the tea plant, is the species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
 whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea
Tea

Tea refers to the agricultural products of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods....
. It is of the genus Camellia
Camellia

Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are native to eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Japan and Indonesia....
 , a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae
Theaceae

The Theaceae is a family of flowering plants, composed of shrubs and trees. The Theaceae is part of order Ericales, in the branch of the dicots known as the Asterids....
. White tea
White tea

White tea is the uncured and unoxidized tea leaf. Like green tea, oolong tea and black tea, white tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant....
, green tea
Green tea

'Green tea' is a type of tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis, that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East....
, oolong
Oolong

Oolong is a traditional Chinese tea somewhere between green tea and black tea in oxidation. It ranges from 10% to 70% oxidation.In Chinese tea culture, semi-oxidized oolong teas are collectively grouped as qingch? ....
, pu-erh tea
Pu-erh tea

Pu-erh, Pu'er tea, Puer tea or Bolay tea is a type of tea made from a "large leaf" variety of the tea plant Camellia sinensis and named after Pu'er Hani and Yi Autonomous County County of China near Simao, Yunnan, China....
 and black tea
Black tea

Black tea is a variety of tea that is more oxidization than the oolong, green tea, and White tea varieties.All four varieties are made from leaves of Camellia sinensis. Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less Redox teas....
 are all harvested from this species, but are processed differently to attain different levels of oxidation. Kukicha
Kukicha

Kukicha , or twig tea, is a Japanese blend of green tea made of stems, stalks, and twigs.Kukicha has a mildly nutty, and slightly creamy sweet flavor....
 (twig tea) is also harvested from camellia sinensis, but uses twigs and stems rather than leaves.

The name sinensis means Chinese
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 in Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
. Camellia is taken from the Latinized name of Rev. Georg Kamel, S.J. (1661-1706), a Czech-born Jesuit priest who became both a prominent botanist and a missionary to the Philippines (it is not uncommon for members of the Catholic Jesuit order to combine careers in scholarship with their religious work). Though Kamel did not discover or name the plant, Carl Linnaeus, the creator of the system of taxonomy
Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek language ', taxis and ', nomos .Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units known as taxa , or kinds of things that are arranged frequently in a hierarchical structure....
 still used today, chose his name for the genus of this tree to honor Kamel's contributions to science. Older names for the tea plant include Thea bohea, Thea sinensis and Thea viridis.

Description

Camellia sinensis is native to mainland South
South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east....
 and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
, but it is today cultivated across the world in tropical and subtropical regions. It is an evergreen shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
 or small tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
 that is usually trimmed to below two metres (six feet) when cultivated for its leaves. It has a strong taproot
Taproot

A plant's taproot is a somewhat straight tapering root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally....
. The flowers are yellow-white, 2.5–4 cm in diameter, with 7 to 8 petals.

The seeds of Camellia sinensis and Camellia oleifera
Camellia oleifera

Camellia oleifera, which originated in China, is notable as an important source of edible oil obtained from its seeds . It is commonly known as the Oil-seed Camellia, Tea Oil Camellia, or Lu Shan Snow Camellia, though to a lesser extent other species of Camellia are used in oil production too....
 can be pressed to yield tea oil
Tea oil

Tea seed oil is an edible, pale amber-green fixed oil with a sweet, herbal aroma. It is cold-pressed mainly from the seeds of Camellia oleifera but also from Camellia sinensis or Camellia japonica....
, a sweetish seasoning and cooking oil that should not be confused with tea tree oil
Tea tree oil

Tea tree oil or melaleuca oil is a clear to very pale golden color essential oil with a fresh camphoraceous odor. It is taken from the leaf of the Melaleuca alternifolia which is native to the northeast coast of New South Wales, Australia....
, an essential oil
Essential oil

An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove....
 that is used for medical and cosmetical purposes and originates from the leaves of a different plant.

Koeh 025
The leaves are 4–15 cm long and 2–5 cm broad. Fresh leaves contain about 4% caffeine
Caffeine

Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a psychoactive stimulant drug and a mild diuretic. Caffeine was discovered by a German chemist, Friedrich Ferdinand Runge, in 1819....
. The young, light green leaves are preferably harvested for tea production; they have short white hairs on the underside. Older leaves are deeper green. Different leaf ages produce differing tea qualities, since their chemical compositions are different. Usually, the tip (bud) and the first two to three leaves are harvested for processing. This hand picking is repeated every one to two weeks.

Cultivation

Main article: Tea cultivation
Tea

Tea refers to the agricultural products of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods....


Camellia sinensis is mainly cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical climates, in areas with at least 50 inches of rainfall a year. However, it is commercially cultivated from the equator to as far north as Cornwall
Cornwall

Cornwall , constitutional Duchy and palatine, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of England, United Kingdom, located at the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain....
 on the UK mainland. Many high quality teas are grown at high elevations, up to 1500 meters (5,000 ft), as the plants grow more slowly and acquire a better flavor.

Tea plants will grow into a tree if left undisturbed, but cultivated plants are pruned to waist height for ease of plucking. Two principal varieties are used, the small-leaved Chinese variety plant (C. sinensis sinensis) and the large-leaved Assamese plant (C. sinensis assamica), used mainly for black tea.

Indian Teas


Indian teas are generally classified by the region they are grown in; the three main tea-producing regions in India are Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri.

Because of the exquisite growing conditions Darjeeling tea
Darjeeling tea

Darjeeling tea, tea from the Darjeeling region in West Bengal, India, has traditionally been prized above all other black teas, especially in the United Kingdom and the countries comprising the former British Empire....
 is considered by tea lovers to be the finest of the Indian teas. Unlike almost all other Indian teas Darjeeling uses the Chinese variety (C. sinensis sinensis), which was brought to India in the 19th century by British planters.

Assam is the largest producing area in India, at 473,000 metric tons annually. Assam has 271,768 hectares of tea gardens with 43,293 estates producing tea. Assam tea has a rich taste (often described as 'malty') and is frequently used as the basis for "breakfast" tea blends.

Nilgiri tea is grown in the South Indian Blue Mountain range. This growing region covers 62,039 hectares and has 62,145 tea estates. Annual tea production is approximately 120,000 tons.

Chinese Teas

The Chinese plant (sometimes called C. sinensis var. sinensis) is a small-leaved bush with multiple stems that reaches a height of some 3 meters. It is native to south-east China. The first tea plant to be discovered, recorded and used to produce tea three thousand years ago, it yields some of the most popular teas.

C. sinensis var. waldenae was considered a different species, Camellia waldenae by S.Y.Hu, but it was later identified as a variety of C. sinensis. This variety is commonly called Walden's Camellia. It is seen on Sunset Peak
Sunset Peak

Sunset Peak or Tai Tung Shan is the third highest hill in Hong Kong. It situates on the Lantau Island with height 869 metre above the sea level....
 and Tai Mo Shan
Tai Mo Shan

Tai Mo Shan has the highest mountain in Hong Kong, with an altitude of 957 m. It is located approximately at the geographical centre of the New Territories....
 in Hong Kong. It is also distributed in Guangxi Province, China.

Diseases


Medical uses

  • The leaves have been used in traditional Chinese medicine
    Traditional Chinese medicine

    Traditional Chinese medicine includes a range of traditional medicine practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medicine system in much of the western world....
     (TCM), and other medical systems to treat asthma
    Asthma

    Asthma is a common chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in which the Lung constrict, become inflammation, and are lined with excessive amounts of thickened mucus, often in response to one or more triggers....
     (functioning as a bronchodilator
    Bronchodilator

    A bronchodilator is a substance that Wiktionary:dilate#Verb the Bronchus and bronchioles, decreasing airway resistance and thereby facilitating airflow....
    ), angina pectoris, peripheral vascular disease, and coronary artery disease.


Tea extracts have become field of interest, due to their notional antibacterial activity. Especially the preservation of processed organic food and the treatment of persistent bacterial infections are being investigated.

  • Green tea leaves and extracts have shown to be effective against bacteria responsible for bad breath.
  • The tea component epicatechin gallate
    Catechin

    Catechins are polyphenolic antioxidant plant metabolites. They belong to the family of flavonoids and, to be more specific, flavonoid#subgroups....
     is being researched because in-vitro experiments showed that it can reverse methicillin
    Methicillin

    Meticillin or methicillin is a narrow-spectrum antibiotic beta-lactam antibiotic of the penicillin class. It was developed by Beecham in 1959....
     resistance in bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus
    Staphylococcus aureus

    Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of staph infections. It is a spherical Bacteria, frequently found in the nose and skin of a person....
    . If confirmed, this means that the combined intake of a tea extract containing this component will enhance the effectiveness of methicillin treatment against some resistant bacteria.


See also

  • Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford
    Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford

    Anna Maria Stanhope, Duke of Bedford , was the daughter of Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington and Jane Fleming.Anna was the wife of Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford, and sister in law to the British Prime Minister John Russell, 1st Earl Russell....
  • Assam tea
    Assam tea

    'Assam' is a black tea named after the region of its production: Assam, India. Assam tea is manufactured specifically from the plant Camellia assamica, that is commonly referred to as Camellia sinensis var....
  • Bubble tea
    Bubble tea

    Bubble tea Arelene, also called "Boba" tea, is a tea drink containing gelatinous tapioca pearls. It originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, spread to nearby East Asian countries, and migrated to Canada before spreading to Chinatown in New York City, then to various spots throughout the West Coast of the United States....
  • Ceylon tea (disambiguation)
    Ceylon tea (disambiguation)

    The term Ceylon tea may refer to a number of varieties of tea grown in Sri Lanka:* Ceylon tea , Black tea* Ceylon tea , Green tea* Ceylon tea , for White tea...
  • Chinese tea culture
    Chinese tea culture

    Chinese tea culture refers to the methods of preparation of tea, the equipment used to make tea and the occasions in which tea is consumed in China....
  • Chinese herbology
    Chinese herbology

    Chinese Herbology , is the common name for the subject of Chinese materia medica. It includes the basic theory of Chinese materia medica, "crude medicine," "prepared drug in pieces" and traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations' source, collection and preparation, performance, efficacy, and clinical applications....
  • Darjeeling tea
    Darjeeling tea

    Darjeeling tea, tea from the Darjeeling region in West Bengal, India, has traditionally been prized above all other black teas, especially in the United Kingdom and the countries comprising the former British Empire....
  • Earl Grey
    Earl Grey tea

    Earl Grey tea is a tea blend with a distinctive flavour and aroma derived from the addition of oil extracted from the Peel of the bergamot orange, a fragrant citrus fruit....
    , a blend of tea made with bergamot orange
    Bergamot orange

    File:Dscf0545.jpgFile:Bergamotfruit.jpgThe bergamot is a small and roughly pear-shaped fragrant citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia. Today it is also commercially grown in Calabria, Italy....
    .
  • English Breakfast tea
    English Breakfast tea

    English Breakfast tea is a black tea blend usually described as full-bodied, robust, and/or rich, and blended to go well with milk and sugar, in a style traditionally associated with a hearty Full breakfast....
  • Flowering tea
    Flowering tea

    A flowering tea, or blooming tea , is a small bundle of dried tea leaves and flowers bound together with cotton thread into a ball. When steeped, the bundle expands and unfurls in a process that emulates a blooming flower....
    , a type of tea that opens up when steeped
  • Frederick John Horniman
    Frederick John Horniman

    Frederick John Horniman was an England tea trader, collector and public benefactor.He was the son of John Horniman, who established a tea business using mechanical packaging....
  • Gunpowder tea
    Gunpowder tea

    Gunpowder tea is a form of green Chinese tea produced in Zhejiang of China in which each leaf has been rolled into a small round pellet. It is believed to take its English name from the fact that the tea resembles gunpowder pellets used for cannon ....
  • The health benefits of tea
    Health benefits of tea

    This article only deals with the effects of tea which is made from the plant Camellia sinensis . This page does not deal with the effects of other teas....
  • Iced tea
    Iced tea

    Iced tea, also known as ice tea, is a form of cold tea, often served in a glass over ice cubes. It may or may not be sweetened. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink....
  • Irish Breakfast tea
    Irish Breakfast tea

    Irish Breakfast tea is a full-bodied, brisk, malty brew. It is a blend of several black teas: most often Assam teas and, less often, other types of black tea....
  • ISO 3103
    ISO 3103

    ISO 3103 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , specifying a standardized method for Tea#Preparation. It was originally laid down in 1980 as BS 6008:1980....
    , a method of brewing tea according to the ISO
    International Organization for Standardization

    The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO , is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations....
    .
  • Japanese tea ceremony
    Japanese tea ceremony

    What is commonly known in English as the Japanese tea ceremony is called chanoyu or also chado or sado in Japanese....
  • Kahwah
    Kahwah

    Kahwah is a traditional green tea recipe that originates from Kashmir. It is made in parts of Kashmir administered by Pakistan and India, as well as throughout various regions of the countries....
     Traditional Green Tea recipe from Kashmir
  • Kaempferol
    Kaempferol

    Kaempferol is a natural flavonoid that has been isolated from tea, broccoli, Delphinium, Witch-hazel, grapefruit, and other plant sources. Kaempferol is a yellow crystalline solid with a melting point of 276-278 ?C....
     a flavanoid found in green and black teas and associated with reduced risk of heart disease
  • Korean tea ceremony
    Korean tea ceremony

    The Korean tea ceremony or darye is a traditional form of tea ceremony practiced in Korea. Darye literally refers to "etiquette for tea" or "day tea rite" and has been kept among Korean people for a few thousand years ...
  • Lapsang souchong
    Lapsang souchong

    Lapsang souchong is a black tea originally from the Wuyi region of the People's Republic of China province of Fujian. It is sometimes referred to as smoked tea....
  • List of tea companies
    List of tea companies

    This is a list of companies that manufacture or distribute tea....
  • Masala chai
    Masala chai

    Masala chai...
  • Mate
    Mate (beverage)

    Mate is an Infusion, containing stimulants including caffeine, prepared by steeping dried leaves of yerba mate / erva-mate in hot water. It is the national drink in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and drinking it is a common social practice in parts of Brazil, Chile, eastern Bolivia, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey....
  • Orange Pekoe
    Orange Pekoe

    File:DSCN7672.JPGOrange pekoe is a term mainly used to describe a grade of tea found in the grading system used in the Western tea trade for sorting black teas ....
  • Peppermint tea
    Peppermint tea

    Peppermint tea is a drink that is either a mixture of tea and peppermint or a tisane of peppermint alone. This drink is said to have health benefits....
  • Prince of Wales tea blend
    Prince of Wales tea blend

    The Prince of Wales is a regal tea blend typically served in the afternoon with scones. It is a full bodied bright liquoring tea, which may include Assam tea, Hyson, Keemun tea, Oolong, or Gunpowder Tea with larkspur, and always a hint of blackcurrant....
  • Rooibos
    Rooibos

    Rooibos, , Afrikaans for "red bush"; biological classification Aspalathus linearis) is a Broom -like member of the Fabaceae family of plants....
  • Samovar
    Samovar

    A samovar is a heated metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water in and around Russia, as well as in other Central Europe, Balkans and Eastern Europe countries, in Iran, Kashmir, Turkey and Hadhramawt eastern Yemen....
  • Tasseography
    Tasseography

    Tasseography is a divination or fortune-telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments.The terms derive from the French word tasse , which in turn derives from the Arabic tassa , and the Greek language suffixes wiktionary:-graph, -logy, and -mancy ....
    , a method of divination
    Divination

    Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of a standardized process or ritual. Diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency....
     by reading tea leaves.
  • Tea
    Tea

    Tea refers to the agricultural products of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods....
  • Tea Classics
    Tea Classics

    Tea as a beverage was consumed in China no later than the fifth century Common Era. The earliest Extant literature mention of tea in literature is in the Shih Ching or Book of Songs, written circa 550 BCE, although the ideogram used in these texts can also designate a variety of plants, such as sowthistle and thrush....
  • Tea tree
    Tea tree

    Tea tree or Ti-tree is a popular name that has been applied to a number of different, unrelated plants:*Camellia sinensis , from which black, green, oolong and white tea are all obtained....
     is a name sometimes applied to a number of different plants unrelated to the tea plant.
  • Tea tree oil
    Tea tree oil

    Tea tree oil or melaleuca oil is a clear to very pale golden color essential oil with a fresh camphoraceous odor. It is taken from the leaf of the Melaleuca alternifolia which is native to the northeast coast of New South Wales, Australia....
     is derived from Melaleuca alternifolia
    Melaleuca

    Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. There are well over 200 recognized species, most of which are endemic to Australia....
     which is native to Australia
    Australia

    Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
     and unrelated to the tea plant discussed here.
  • Thai tea
    Thai tea

    Thai tea or "cha-yen" when ordered in Thailand, is a drink made from strongly-brewed black tea . Other ingredients may include added star anise, tamarind or red and yellow food coloring, and sometimes other spices as well....
  • Turkish tea
    Turkish tea

    Turkish tea is a type of tea that is drunk by most people living in the Turkic speaking world and the Horn of Africa. Moreover, it is drunk in Iran, Tajikistan, and Western China or Chinese Turkistan Turkish tea is more popular than Turkish coffee among younger people in Turkey....

External links

  • from Purdue University
    Purdue University

    Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, Indiana, United States, is the flagship university of the six campuses within the Purdue University System....
  • Plant Cultures:
  • from Toklai Tea Research Station, Jorhat, Assam.
  • Antibacterial Activity of Green Tea Extracts against Streptococcus anginosus group: http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10017425510/en/
  • The effect of a component of tea (Camellia sinensis) on methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus: http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/42/2/211