Everything About Tea

By D. L Sagnes

Tea is one of the most consumesd drinks in the world. Research has found that tea helps your body in so many ways. 

This book offers everything you need to know about tea. Learn about what is tea, and how its made, the history of tea and even how to grow your own tea garden. Its amazing on how the power of a plant cant help someone. There are so many varieties of tea. 

Learn about the different kinds of herbal teas, and how to make a proper cup of tea. 

This book is an excellent guide to learn everything you need to know about tea and more. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Debbie Sagnes
• Release date: Jan 5, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224173792

Book preview

Chapter 1

What is tea?

What is tea?

Tea is probably one of the, if not the oldest beverage in the world. It has been the preferred beverage among emperors, kings, queens, peasants, Buddhist monks and nuns, Taoists and scholars. Tea is a beverage rich in history, culture and research. This small plant has been the centre of attention in so many diverse areas and economic conditions, thus we have so many flavours originating from one tiny plant – the Camellia Sinensis. China, alone, has over two thousand different types of green tea, all beginning from this one plant.

All varieties of tea are made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant.  To simplify and categorize, we often refer to the 6 types of tea which includes black tea, green tea, wulong (oolong) tea, white tea, and dark tea. The Camellia sinensis plant is native to Southeast Asia, but it’s now being cultivated in tea-friendly climates world-wide.  

Beverages we call herbal tea - peppermint, rooibos, chamomile, etc. – are not from the Camellia sinensis plant.  Therefore, they are not tea in the technical sense (though we accept the phrase and don’t correct people for using it).

Why are there so many kinds of tea?

Since all tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, the differences between the types of tea are primarily due to how they are processed after the leaves are picked.  In theory, any tea plant growing anywhere can have its leaves made into any kind of tea, but this is not done in practice because geography, growing conditions, and local expertise are critical factors to proper tea production.

True tea—whether it's black, green, white, or oolong, hot, or iced—comes from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. But the herbal kind comes from soaking various flowers, leaves, or spices in hot water. Most of these brews don’t have caffeine. You can start with premade bags or loose material you steep and then strain out. Herbal teas are also called tisanes.

Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes, are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term tea is used as a reference to all sorts of herbal teas. Some herbal blends contain actual tea.

Does tea contain caffeine?

Yes, because all tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, it all contains (roughly) the same amount of caffeine.  The biggest determining factors of how much caffeine will be in your cup is how much leaf you use, how hot you steep it, and how long you steep it.

Herbal teas are not from the Camellia sinensis plant and because of this the vast majority of them are caffeine free.  These include chamomile, rooibos, ginger, hibiscus, fruit tisanes, and other non-camellia sinensis beverages that are steeped similar to tea.

What's the difference between different types of tea?

The difference between each tea is the degree to which the leaves are oxidized or fermented. Usually, tea leaves that are heavily oxidized are darker or redder and teas that are less fermented are lighter or greener. Traditional tea usually contains caffeine.

Chapter 2

The Tea Plant

It’s hard to believe , but all teas come from essentially the same plant, an evergreen of the Camellia family that is native to China, Tibet, and northern India. There are three major varieties of the tea plant:

1.  Camellia Sinensis – a small leaf variety that thrives in the cool, high mountains of central China and Japan

2.  Camellia – a broad leaf variety that grow best at lower elevations, in the moist, tropical climates found in Northeast India and the Szechuan and Yunnan provinces of China.

3.  Hybrid type – a cross between the assamica and the sinensis.

The tea plants do have characteristics that are common throughout the varieties. They all produce dark green, shiny leaves and small, pure white blossoms, averaging about 1 1/4″ in diameter and resembling a white wild rose. The blossoms bright yellow stamens are so bushy and showy, that in some varieties the flower appears to be yellow rather than white. The flowers in some Chinese and India plants are very fragrant and they have been used for scenting tea leaves.

Tea plants have a growth phase and a dormant period, usually during the winter. The leaves are plucked as the new tea shoots (flush) emerge. In hotter climates the plants have several flushes and can be picked year-round. In cooler conditions at higher elevations, there is a distinct harvesting season. Most tea experts feel that the leaves from the earlier flushes, in the spring yield the finest quality teas, but this is a personal taste preference. Each flush produces fine teas, with different characteristics.

If left to grow wild the tea tree can grow as tall as 60 , depending on the climate. There is even a 1700-year-old tree in the Yunnan Province of China that stands over 100 feet tall. Today the tea plant, also know as the tea bush", is pruned and harvested and its height is maintained at about 3 ‘. This tea bush is the standard for most of today’s tea cultivation due to its richer and fuller leaves.

Affecting the thousands of varieties of tea are variables such as soil, altitude and weather. Some teas crave high mountains and cool mist, while others grow better in lower terrain. Most premium quality teas grow at higher elevations, where mountain mist and dew shield the plants from