Tea Info › The Tea Plant

The Tea Plant

The scientific name for tea is Camellia sinensis. The drink we call tea is made by steeping the processed leaves, buds or twigs of this evergreen plant in hot water for a few minutes.

Every true tea, whether white, green, oolong or black, comes from this one plant. Herbal "teas" like peppermint, rooibos and fruit blends are made from other plants, which is why they're naturally caffeine-free.

Watercolor of a Camellia sinensis tea branch with a bud, leaves and a white flower

Two Main Varieties

China plant: var. sinensis

A small-leaf shrub that handles cool weather and high mountains. It's grown across China, Japan and Taiwan, and in Darjeeling, where it gives the famous delicate, muscatel cup.

Assam plant: var. assamica

A large-leaf plant that loves heat and humidity. It was found growing in Assam, India, and today it's behind bold, malty teas from Assam and many other warm tea regions.

A Little Tea History

Legend has it that tea was first discovered by the Chinese emperor Shennong. Whatever its true beginnings, China has the earliest records of tea drinking. Tea was first valued as an herb, and over time it became a drink enjoyed for pleasure on social occasions, by the Tang Dynasty or earlier.

The Tang Dynasty writer and poet Lu Yu wrote The Classic of Tea, one of the earliest works on the subject. It tells us that tea drinking was already widespread in his day. The book describes how tea plants were grown, how the leaves were processed, how tea was prepared and how it was judged, and even where the best tea leaves came from.

In the Tang Dynasty, tea was made very differently from today. The leaves were pressed into cakes. The dried tea cake, often called brick tea, was ground in a stone mortar. Then hot water was added to the powder, or the powder was boiled in earthenware kettles and drunk hot.

One Plant, Four Main Types

Depending on how much the leaves are allowed to oxidize (often called "fermentation" in the tea world, although no real fermenting takes place), tea can be grouped into four main types: white tea, green tea, oolong tea and black tea. After picking, tea leaves soon begin to wilt and oxidize unless they're dried quickly. They turn darker as the chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. Tea makers control this oxidation to make each type.