Different factors, such as region, weather, growing, handling, and harvesting, work together to produce entirely different teas.
A particular category of green tea is that it is separated by the processing reference. Green tea farming is performed in more than 30 countries, particularly in Asia, mainland:
- China
- India
- Japans
- Sri Lanka
- Indonesia
- Nepal
Moreover, in other nations and territories such as:
- Kenya
- Argentina
- Australia
Particularly in warm and moist areas around the globe.
That's because the plants of Camellia Sinensis is properly-suited to tropics and subtropics as it needs around 1.250 mm of rainfall a year.
The perfect spot to cultivate Camellia Sinensis tea plants is more than 1500 meters above sea level.
The growing of the tea at that altitude is slow because the leaves have such a thicker flavor.
The tea plants can generally grow under broad evergreen forest areas between 100-2200 m above sea level.
Southwest China, as:
- Yunnan
- Guangxi
- Sichuan
- Guizhou
Also:
- North Laos
- North Vietnam
- Burma
- Cambodia
- Northeast India
Those regions are indigenous tea growing zones.
On the outside, the tea cycle area like:
- Eastern China
- Japan
- South Korea
- Thailand
- Taiwan
But Camellia Sinensis's center of heterogeneity is in the Upper Mekong region of southwest Yunnan.
Harvesting Green Tea
Tea has been in production for at least 1,500 years. In areas with rainfall of more than 120-150 cm per year and temperatures between 12 and 30 degrees Celsius, tea cultivation is appropriate.
The average rainfall of 250-300 cm and an average temperature of 18-20 degrees Celsius is a suitable growing environment. Planting can occur from up to 2,200 meters above sea level, with some tea cultivars up to 3,000 m.
A higher altitude is also associated with higher-value tea. It usually takes 5 hours of clear sun or 11 hours of warm weather per day for optimal tea growth.
While the Camellia sinensis plant species respond to various conditions, climate change will react in the plant, and its actions will be affected.
Climatic conditions and changing seasons will change the rate of tea growth and lead to the creation of distinctive taste characteristics in the area, so that:
The Camellia sinensis plant is no more than 2 meters tall, and in this way, the collection of leaves is easier.
Green tea leaves are hand-picked every 5 to 10 days, mostly at harvest.
While green, black, white, and oolong teas are each related from the same genus Camellia sinensis, two main types are used to make tea: Sinensis or Assamica, which are distinguished by the shape of the leaves.
The Sinensis variant has a leaf size of 5 to 12 cm. As for Assamica, the leaves can exceed 20 cm.
As it is sometimes called, plantations or tea gardens are planted in nearby mountainous areas or rainforests.
The green tea plant thrives in fog, cold days, temperatures over 18 ° C, and seasonal rainfall. But many tea plants are grown in sedimentary and slightly acid soils.
Teas are classified according to the region in which they are cultivated, so each growing area is famous for teas that seem to have a certain smell and character.
If left unchecked, the tea bush tends to grow up to 12 m tall, and perhaps some great productive varieties are also developing.
However, the bush is always cut down to make the harvest easier.
A well-tended bush will produce tea for fifty years. In the third year, the tea bush has more leaves and maximum capacity.
Young leaves of Camellia sinensis are collected around April and September 3 times a year. The harvest timing also affects the properties of tea, as the first harvest is most important in the spring.
Some of the tea plants are hand-picked, but most are harvested by hand, as was the case for royal Chinese tea plantations in the previous century.
Many green tea harvesters are women who move through the tea bushes, crack the leaves, and tuck them into tea bags.
Manual tea harvesting is better than mechanical, as all that needs to be harvested to get the best quality tea is a flowering plant consisting of 2 leaves but one shoot.
The bud and both leaves' harvest affects the taste of the tea, but the polyphenols are 3 times greater than the older leaves.
The tea leaves are heated after processing to extract moisture to prevent oxidation in the first place.
Oxidation slightly controls the development of the taste and aroma of tea, determines the compounds. The critical differences between Chinese and Japanese manufacturing processes are currently known. The Chinese have a unique expression called kill-green to avoid oxidizing tea leaves.
- In cold places in winter, Camellia sinensis may not grow and can only start growing. Gather fresh shoots in the spring as the sun begins to warm the soil and the first raindrops.
- During the winter and the dry season, teas tend to grow slowly and have the time, under sufficiently extreme conditions, to produce an excellent taste from their leaves.
- If the air is warm and humid, the tea plants bloom in spring and summer and taste better.
- As the temperature drops and the rain ends in fall, the tea plant's productivity gradually decreases, and thus the tea may have quite an interesting flavor profile.
The Camellia sinensis plant is no more than 2 meters tall, and in this way, the collection of leaves is easier.
Green tea leaves are hand-picked every 5 to 10 days, mostly at harvest.
While green, black, white, and oolong teas are each related from the same genus Camellia sinensis, two main types are used to make tea: Sinensis or Assamica, which are distinguished by the shape of the leaves.
The Sinensis variant has a leaf size of 5 to 12 cm. As for Assamica, the leaves can exceed 20 cm.
As it is sometimes called, plantations or tea gardens are planted in nearby mountainous areas or rainforests.
The green tea plant thrives in fog, cold days, temperatures over 18 ° C, and seasonal rainfall. But many tea plants are grown in sedimentary and slightly acid soils.
Teas are classified according to the region in which they are cultivated, so each growing area is famous for teas that seem to have a certain smell and character.
If left unchecked, the tea bush tends to grow up to 12 m tall, and perhaps some great productive varieties are also developing.
However, the bush is always cut down to make the harvest easier.
A well-tended bush will produce tea for fifty years. In the third year, the tea bush has more leaves and maximum capacity.
Young leaves of Camellia sinensis are collected around April and September 3 times a year. The harvest timing also affects the properties of tea, as the first harvest is most important in the spring.
Some of the tea plants are hand-picked, but most are harvested by hand, as was the case for royal Chinese tea plantations in the previous century.
Many green tea harvesters are women who move through the tea bushes, crack the leaves, and tuck them into tea bags.
Manual tea harvesting is better than mechanical, as all that needs to be harvested to get the best quality tea is a flowering plant consisting of 2 leaves but one shoot.
The bud and both leaves' harvest affects the taste of the tea, but the polyphenols are 3 times greater than the older leaves.
The tea leaves are heated after processing to extract moisture to prevent oxidation in the first place.
Oxidation slightly controls the development of the taste and aroma of tea, determines the compounds. The critical differences between Chinese and Japanese manufacturing processes are currently known. The Chinese have a unique expression called kill-green to avoid oxidizing tea leaves.
Usually, you roast tea leaves in a large Chinese pot. In comparison, Japanese tea makers tend to use steam for tea production and place tea leaves in hot water on large bamboo trays.
Finally, the tea leaves are carefully dried in a draft to remove any water. The two separate approaches make their mark on tea. For tea drinkers, differentiating between Chinese and Japanese green tea is simple in many other situations.
Green Tea Processing
The tea will go for the rolling process.
The rest of the sap and essential oils that remain within the leaf are extracted,d and the tea's taste is enhanced.
Green tea for various flavors can therefore be rolled and dried a few times.
Green and white teas are the most basic treatment of all teas since their conventional aim is to conserve their pleasant aroma. Their contemporary objective is to maintain many other phytonutrients of tea as necessary.
Its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are distinguished by their phytonutrient compounds.
Phytonutrients will enhance immunity and contact between cells, fix DNA damages, and remove carcinogenic toxicity.