Camellia Sinensis
The One True Tea

One source provides all tea that we may know; it is called the Camellia Sinensis plant. Sometimes nicknamed the tea plant. The leaves, buds, and the twigs of this shrub are used to produce tea.

The types of tea that are obtained from the many varieties of the Sinensis are, white tea, green tea, oolong, and black teas. These types of teas are processed differently however, that is how each type of tea contains different levels of antioxidants. There is another type of tea that comes from the Sinensis plant is nicknamed the Twig Tea. It is Kukicha Tea.
The plants’ twigs and stem pieces are used to process this tea. It is extremely popular in Japan.

The Camellia Sinensis is a native plant in areas of South East Asia, which encompasses
quite a few countries. Some of which are: Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Bruni, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

China, Japan, and India are the highest producers of the tea plant. The Camellia Sinensis
is cultivated all over the world. There must be tropical or subtropical weather and about fifty inches of rainfall per year. The Camellia Sinensis is considered a small evergreen tree that bears flowers that are very light yellow and almost white in color. Scientists and Botanists alike believe there could be as many as two hundred and fifty different species of the plant.

The Camellia Sinensis has seeds that are also harvested. They can be pressed and oil can be distracted. This should not be confused with the highly touted Tea Tree Oil. This is cosmetic oil and comes from the leaves of another plant.

For the production of drinking tea, the leaves are captured when they are very young and are light green in color. As a leave begins to age they will become darker green and will produce different qualities of tea. The shrub is pruned down and cut back so that the shrub becomes waist-high. This is to aid those women with who will do the honor of gently handpicking weekly or biweekly the leaves from the shrub. Most tea production is started promptly after the picking of the leaves is complete. To produce Japanese green tea, and stop the oxidation process the leaves are steamed using long standing Japanese
traditions. To produce Chinese green tea, the leaves are roasted. Oolong tea is left to oxidize a bit longer and this is the product that one would see in Chinese restaurants. Finally, Black tea is left to oxidize for a longer period of time, thus this will produce a darker tea. It is usually from the Assamese variety of Camellia Sinensis shrub. The Assamese produces the most volume. And last, to mention White Tea is considered a delicacy and is harvested from the ends of the branches which contain the needles. White tea is considered to be the finest of quality.

The Camellia Sinensis shrub is the one true tea.