Characteristics, Varieties and Cultivation of the Tea Plant, Camellia Sinensis

Tea is one of the world’s most popular beverages, yet not everyone is familiar with the plant from which it is produced, Camellia sinensis.Did you know, for example, that all types of tea come from the same plant, differing only in the way it is grown and processed? In this article we will delve into the characteristics, origin, how the tea plant is grown, and how its leaves are processed, on a journey to discover the secrets of this very famous brew.

Tea Plant: History and Characteristics

The tea plant, Camellia Sinensis (L.) or Kuntze var. sinensis, is a species of plant belonging to the genus Camellia and the Theaceae family, from whose leaves tea, the beverage of many properties, is obtained, second in popularity only to coffee. Whether we talk about black tea, green tea or white tea, all these types of tea come from Camellia Sinensis, thus from the same plant, and differ in the type of harvest and processing, which follows traditional processes. Camellia Sinensis is called tea plant, and not tea tree, which instead in Italy indicates Malaleuca alternifolia, from which the oil known as tea tree oil, or tea tree oil, is made, and which instead has nothing to do with tea, nor with Camellia.

Camellias are a widespread and hardy plant, and the tea plant is one of the crops with the oldest history: its origins and consumption of the beverage are traced to the millennium before the birth of Christ, while the naming is attributed to Charles Linnaeus. Its cultivation, in any case, is said to have begun in China, the country of origin of Camellia Sinensis (sinensis in Latin really means Chinese), around 400 AD and only centuries later exported to other countries, such as Japan. We have to wait until the second half of the 1500s and the Hispanic-Portuguese trade network for the arrival of the tea plant in Europe, where, initially used by wealthy people for its beneficial properties, it began to spread as a consumer beverage, especially in England. It was the British who brought tea cultivation to India, in the colonial period, and to the island of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, among the world’s two leading tea producers. The name tea, would derive from the Chinese word ‘tay’ which later blossomed into the different linguistic variants as tea.

Varieties of Camellia Sinensis

There are actually 81 varieties of Camellia Sinensis, but only two are considered the main ones, and have commercial use: the Camellia sinensis sinensis, also known as China, and the Camellia sinensis assamica, known as Assam, which is typical of India and adapted to warmer climates.

There is also the less widespread Cambodian variety, Camellia sinensis cambodiensis, as well as many hybrids: for example, in the 1930s in Italy a variety called Camellia thea ticinensis was created by a botany professor, which could withstand the harsh climate of the Po Valley, although its spread was not very successful.

Camellia Sinensis also has several cultivars, the botanical subspecies with which different blends of tea are created, stemming precisely from the great tradition and spread of tea plant cultivation, which has taken on in different countries, different modes and processes that have led to the production of particular varieties. The most famous and widespread cultivars of Camellia Sinensis are:

• Benifuuki
• Fushun
• Kanayamidori
• Meiryoku
• Saemidori

Cultivation of the Tea Plant

Like all Camellia plants, the tea plant needs to be grown in temperate climates (between 10° and 30°) with regular rainfall (at least 127 cm of rain per year).In fact, it generally grows excellently in tropical and subtropical climates, where crops can be found as high as 2,500 m above sea level. Camellia Sinensis can also be grown in sunny as well as in wetter areas, provided the soil is fertile enough: the ideal soil for growing the tea plant is acidic, with no waterlogging, in fact it is also grown in areas such as Cornwall, England.

The tea plant offers a harvest from 3-5 years of age, and is grown to about 1-1.20 m in height, to create a suitable harvest conformation: following the growth and cultivation of Camellia sinensis with painstaking care is of paramount importance, because if it were left to its natural growth it would become a tree, instead to encourage harvesting it is grown as an evergreen shrub. The tea plant is an upright shrub, whose leaves have an ovate-acuminate shape and are 4 to 15 cm long, and the flowers a white color and yellow stamens. Tea leaves contain caffeine.

Four-fifths of the world’s tea cultivation nowadays comes basically from China, India, Sri Lanka and Kenya. Further back countries where the tea tradition is nonetheless very strong, Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan, in particular, where tea tradition, consumption and cultivation are one of the mainstays of the country, resulting in some of the finest green teas in existence. In Eastern countries, much more than in the West, tea consumption has not only the value of consuming a beverage, but represents a spiritual and social ritual, which goes by the name of ‘tea ceremony,’ which originated in China with the Gong fu cha.

Tea Processing and Production

The processes that lead to obtaining the loose tea leaves that we find for sale ready to be infused are diverse, and are structured in stages that can differ depending on the location and planting of the tea, the country, and the tea’s own processing methods.

Planting is done with about 10,000 plants per hectare of land, spaced about one meter apart. Sometimes shading is used to shelter the tea plants from wind or direct sun. This is referred to as ‘shading’ of the tea leaves, in Japan ‘kabuse,’ which is done through the use of canopies.

Harvesting of tea leaves from Camellia Sinensis takes place at different times of the year, and the timing of harvesting is a major factor in determining the variety of tea: in fact, there is a harvesting of the earliest leaves, which lead to a more valuable and higher quality type of tea and produced in smaller quantities, and then of the leaves that are found further down the line. Usually the harvesting of tea leaves takes place 3 or 4 times a year, during the coolest hours of the day, at sunrise and sunset: the timing and manner vary according to the plant, height, and quantity, and generally the most abundant harvest is in the fall, while the most valuable harvest is in the spring. Usually the harvesting of tea leaves is done by hand, especially by women, and takes about two weeks, but in some plantations the process is mechanized. Teas from the world’s best tea gardens, however, are harvested by hand, and this process is a very important step in the production of fine teas that allows the tenderest leaves to be selected.

Then the leaves, after being harvested from the tea plant, are transported to factories for same-day processing so that the aromas and organoleptic properties are not lost. The type of processing depends on the type of tea to be obtained: different processes and processing steps in fact lead to even diametrically different products, with different properties, characteristics and aromatic notes. As a rule, tea leaves are withered or dried, either in the sun or by artificial processes, a process that softens them and removes surface moisture, then dried, and then the process of ‘rolling’, rolling and rolling, is carried out, which can be done by hand or by specific machinery. The shape of the leaves is also a sign of different types of tea, for example oolong teas are not ‘rolled’ but formed into balls. Next comes a fermentation, between 20 and 40 degrees, and a final drying stage. At this point the leaves are selected, and blends are created if necessary.

Different Types of Tea, One Plant

Many people think that the different existing types of tea, black tea, green tea, white tea, and oolong tea depend on differences in the plant, and even Linnaeus was convinced that black tea and green tea came from different plants. In reality, all varieties of tea are obtained from the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis (variety sinensis or assamica), and there are not as many varieties as there are types of tea, but what they differ in is the mode of cultivation, terroir, climatic conditions, harvesting period, and especially the processes and stages of processing.

The finest teas, for example, are obtained by processing the buds and first apical leaves, as is the case with white teas, or fine green teas such as Sencha and Gyokuro, while most teas come from the second crop, that of the largest and lowest leaves.

Black tea, for example, is fermented or oxidized tea, a process that leads to darkening of the leaves through the natural process of fermentation, which after the withering and ‘shaking’ or stirring stages allows the leaves to rest. Oolong teas, semi-fermented teas, also undergo fermentation, which, however, is stopped at a certain percentage: black teas are thus completely oxidized while oolongs differ according to the degree of oxidation. Green teas, on the other hand, are unfermented teas, as the natural process of oxidation is stopped by heat sources: matcha green tea, for example, undergoes an additional process of stone grinding the leaves to obtain a very fine powder, while kukicha and hojicha are green teas that undergo a roasting process. Pu erh teas, on the other hand, are post-fermented teas, that is, they undergo microbial fermentation processes after the drying and rolling stages.

The most common types of tea derived from Camellia Sinensis are:

• Black tea
• Green tea
• White tea
• Oolong tea
• Yellow tea
• Pu-erh tea
• Matcha tea
• Kukicha tea
• Hojicha tea

 Tea Plant: Properties and Uses

For centuries tea has been used for its beneficial properties, in the past particularly among the upper strata of society. Tea made from the leaves of Camellia Sinensis, taken as a beverage, generally has astringent, antibacterial, antiviral and antioxidant properties, as well as nervous system stimulants. Tea is also an energizer and a stimulant, containing caffeine, whose action is mediated by the presence of catechins and L-theanine, which induce a state of relaxation, and is used in cases of depressive states.

In traditional medicine, especially in China and India, tea is still used as a remedy for migraines, gastrointestinal disorders, headaches, and digestive problems and nausea. In homeopathic medicine, tea is administered in the form of drops and granules.

Of the tea plant, not only the leaves are used for infusion, but also the seeds. The seeds of the tea plant, Camellia Sinensis, are pressed to obtain an oil, a compound of oleic acid, vitamin A, vitamin B and polyphenols, which is known as tsubaki-abura. An extract is also produced from Camellia sinensis, which is used for cosmetic purposes. It, too, looks like an oil, and is a very powerful moisturizer, used in anti-aging treatments because it can easily permeate the skin.

Tea Preparation

To prepare tea leaves into an infusion, it is enough to follow a few simple rules, but these must be followed precisely to have a perfect cup of tea. It is, first of all, good to employ loose leaf tea, to be preferred to sachets of uncertain quality. You only need a few tools: a kettle or pot, a teapot and a cup, and if you have one, a tea thermometer to check the temperature and a timer for the infusion time.

To prepare the tea you will need to:

Bring the water to the right temperature: each tea has a different infusion temperature, for example, black teas should be infused at much higher temperatures than green teas.

Pour the water over the sides of the cup or teapot, and not directly over the leaves, and let it steep for the predetermined time.

Strain and serve in cups. Add milk or sugar if desired.

Where to Buy the Tea Plant

Tea plant cultivation can also be experimented with at home: there are many who try growing Camellia Sinensis, and although the tea made from it may not be processed with the mastery of the most famous tea masters, growing the tea plant in pots can be an interesting experiment! One can buy tea plant seeds directly, and germinate them before transferring them to pots, or purchase an already formed plant from a nursery.