Tea plant (Camellia sinensis)

Teh or tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is a species where leaves and twigs are used to make drinks. White tea, green tea, oolong tea and black tea or red tea are produced by the leaves of this species, but are processed differently to obtain different levels of oxidation, while Kukicha is produced from twigs.

A small shrub or tree that is usually trimmed at the top to harvest leaves. Strong taproots, yellow-white flowers 2.5-4 cm in diameter and 7-8 petals. The leaves have 4-15 cm long, 2-5 cm wide and short white hairs at the bottom. Young leaves are light green and dark leaves are darker in color.

Four varieties are recognized. Of these, C. sinensis var. sinensis and C. sinensis var. assamica (JW Masters) Kitamura are most commonly used for tea, and C. sinensis var. pubilimba Hung T. Chang and C. sinensis var. dehungensis (Hung T. Chang & BH Chen) TL Ming are sometimes used locally.

Seeds are pressed or squeezed to get oil as a spice that has a rather sweet taste and cooking oil, while wood produces an essential oil that is used for health and beauty purposes.

Fresh leaves contain caffeine 4%. Leaves of different ages produce different qualities of tea. Younger leaves are more preferred, usually shoots until the first three leaves are harvested for processing. Harvesting is repeated every two weeks.

Tea plants are cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions with at least 50 inches of rainfall per year. Many high-quality teas come from a height of up to 1500 meters because these species grow more slowly and produce better taste. Plants will become trees if they grow wild, while cultivated tea plants will be routinely pruned.

Tea leaves are used in traditional medicine and other medical systems to treat asthma, angina pectoris, peripheral vascular and coronary heart disease. Tea extract has been a concern because it has antibacterial activity. Preservation of organic food processed and treatment of persistent bacterial infections is being researched.

A chemical component called epikatekin is being studied where in-vitro experiments can reduce bacterial immunity to antibiotics in Staphylococcus aureus. Drinking tea extract containing this component will increase the effectiveness of methicillin to kill invulnerable bacteria.

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Theaceae
Genus: Camellia
Species: C. sinensis

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