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Tea is an evergreen bush from the genus camellia. According to Chinese legend the Emperor Shen Nong (2737-2697 B.C.) discovered tea by accident when a leaf from a bush growing wild fell into his drinking vessel which was filled with hot water. China (Yunnan) is commonly supposed to be the original home of the tea plant Camellia sinensis.
Camellia assamica is the second original tea plant, which was discovered in India (Assam) by the Scottish Major Robert Bruce in 1823. Both plants are named after the places they were first found.
There is a variety of crossbreeds of the two species which are used in tea growing, the so-called hybrid plants.
Black and green teas derive from the same tea plant, only processed in different ways.
Green tea:
Plucking, Rolling, Drying, Grading
Black tea:
Plucking, Withering, Rolling, Fermenting, Drying, Grading
oolong teas are semi-fermented teas where the fermentation process has been interrupted during the production. Depending on the duration of the fermentation the result is either green or black Oolong.
White teas:
Plucking of young buds, Left drying in the sun, Rolling by hand
The black tea production methods are: orthodox and CTC.
Orthodox production:
Careful plucking, Withering, Rolling, Fermenting, Drying, Grading
CTC-production:
Plucking, Withering, CTC process (=Crushing-Tearing-Curling) which results in much smaller tea leaves compared to the orthodox rolling methods.