The Tea Plant
Thea sinensis (or Chinese Tea)
This
plant remains shrub-like even without regular cutting and grows to a
maximum height of 3 to 4 meters. It is especially suitable for medium
climatic zones and even tolerates frost. The China-tea plant has been
cultivated for many thousand years which resulted in an art variety of
approximately 5,000, which are, however, not all cultivated in notable
amounts.
The first tea cultivation in India took place
in the 19th century in the region Darjeeling with the Chinese camellia
sinensis. After the discovery of the Assam pland in the rainforest of
the Province Assam, people in India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) started
interbreeding these two tea plants in oder to gain synergies by adding
the advanteages of each. Today, these hybrids are cultivated almost
everywhere. With respect to economic considerations, the proportion of
the Assam plant is kept as high as possible in these breds as it is
quickly growing.
Thea assamica
Without
cutting, this plant grows to a tree size of 15 to 20 metres. It needs
warm temperatures and tropical climate. It was discovered in 1823 as a
grown tree in the jungle of Northern India. Only a few years later it
was already cultivated. The Assam plant requires hot and humid
conditions and its leaves are larger than that of the China tea plant.
As
is usual with a high-quality natural product, the tea plant, with its
dark, ridged and leather-like leaves, is not humble with respect to its
environmental demands. Its preferred climatic conditions can be
described as the "camelia-climate": average temperatures of at least
18°C, none or very rare frost, annual precipitation of at least 1,600
litres spread evenly over the year, an average sunshine of 4 hours
daily and very well drained, permeable and acidic soil.
In
order to create finer, more aromatic and more robust varieties, the two
original plants were often interbred. The so-created Assam-hybrid
proved especially adequate and provides the basis for almost all tea
cultivations in the world today. Today, the plants are multiplied by
cloning.
However, it is a mistake to believe that the
differences in quality and taste are solely due to the diverse tea
varieties in the plant itself. These characteristics are mainly
determined by the cultivation area (climate, soil characteristics,
altitude, ...) and, of course, by the treatment and preparation on the
respective plantations. A consistent quality standard is guaranteed by
these different blends.