Tea, tay, cha, or chia, whatever name you use, there are nearly 3,000 varieties available today. All TRUE teas derive from one plant, a warm weather evergreen shrub, native to China, Tibet, and Northern India, Camellia sinensis. Camellia comes from G.J. Camellius, a missionary who brought the plant to Europe from Asia in the seventeenth century. Sinensis is Latin, and indicates that the species was originally found in China.
Region, altitude, harvesting, and processing technique is the key to tea variety. Each category of tea, black, green, oolong, and white is processed differently. The leaves are harvested from the plant in the field and immediately the process begins. First the leaves are spread out on tables or trays and left to air dry or "wither". This preserves the leaves by removing most of the moisture. As the moisture evaporates, the leaves become soft and limp. The next step depends on which method is used.
The Cut, Tear and Curl Method uses a machine to process the leaves into small grainy pieces. The leaves are then fired to remove any remaining moisture. This method provides quick processing for a high volume of tea leaves, as is common for use in packaged tea bags. You can find these inferior, boxed tea bags in your local grocery, however, for the discerned tea lover, you will want to indulge in the fine quality of loose leaf teas that are offered by Following Seasons ~ Botanical Traditions.
Our Loose Leaf Tea line offers a large variety of internationally sourced teas including, black tea, green tea, oolong tea and white tea.
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