Cultivation of Tea

The four types of tea, Green tea, Black tea, Oolong tea, and White tea, all come from the Camelia sinensis, better known as the tea plant. The Camelia sinensis is a perennial, semi-deciduous tree that would normally grow to 25 feet and flower or fruit, but instead it is meticulously pruned to help cultivate its leaves. The tea plant thrives in humid, tropical conditions with lots of rainfall and long sunlit days. The tea plant is intolerable of frost and grows best in acidic well drained soil.

The unique blend of temperature and soil requirements limits the regions in which the tea plant can be cultivated. There are a few countries where the tea plant will flourish: China, Japan, Taiwan, India, and Sri Lanka. Not surprisingly, these countries are the chief producers of tea in the world. China and Japan produce some of the finest green tea in the world. Taiwan has some of the best oolong tea. India and Sri Lanka are the home of some of the best black tea found anywhere.