Camellia sinensis

Why is tea called tea? Actually, there are two main ways to refer to tea across the world, namely “tea” or “chai”. Tea originated from China about 4500 years ago. There were records documenting the medicinal use of the tea plant as early as the Shang dynasty (1500 BC). About the word “tea”: it's a beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis. At the beginning of its colonial period in the 16th century, Portugal was the first country to bring the habit of tea drinking to Europe. At the time, the Portuguese were involved in trade with Central China and Guangdong. The local word for tea there is “cha”, so the Portuguese adopted this way of calling it all across its other colonies, such as South America etc. Likewise, the word “chai” also entered Russia and the Arabic countries by way of foreign trading. At the end of 16th century during the Qing dynasty, China and Japan had declared a strict ban on maritime travel. Back when Zheng Chenggong (better known in the West by his Hokkien honorific Koxinga or Coxinga) hadn’t taken the island of Taiwan yet, it was full of…

Introduction of Chinese TeaChina is the homeland of tea, which is the most popular beverage in the country. It is believed that Chinese tea culture has a history of more than 4,000 years. Drinking tea has been a dietary habbit for Chinese people.China tea is the dried and processed leaves of the tea bush, plants called camellia sinensis. There are several varieties of this shrub, thus producing many types of Chinese teas. The growth of tea requires proper climatic conditions, soil, rainfall, altitude and other natural elements.Tea bushes grow well in areas where it is warm and humid. The soil should be acidic, meaning the soil's PH value ranges between 4.5 and 6. The land where tea is grown must have a rainfall exceeding 1,000 mm a year, and has to be well-drained.Chinese tea is known to contain rich and various vitamins, especially Vitamin C. Therefore it is important to remember that while steeping tea, the temperature of water should be below 80℃, otherwise the vitamins in the tealeaves are likely to be destroyed.Categories of Chinese TeaChinese tea may be classified into the following categories based on the different methods by which it is processed.1. Chinese Green TeaChinese green tea…