Tea is made from steeping the leaves, buds, or twigs of the Camellia sinensis plant in hot water. There are four main types of tea depending on how the leaves are processed: white, green, oolong, and black tea. Tea provides various health benefits due to its antioxidant properties. It is among the most consumed beverages worldwide after water. Tea cultivation requires specific climate and soil conditions and involves pruning, fertilizing, pest management and processing the leaves to produce different tea types.

1. (Camellia sinensis)

2.  Tea is a beverage made by steeping
processed leaves, buds, or twigs of the tea
bush (Camellia sinensis) in hot water for a
few minutes.
 The processing can include
 oxidation
 heating
 drying
 the addition of
 other herbs
 flowers
 spices
 fruits.

3.  World’s most popular beverage after water
 Every day, 800 million cups or glasses of tea
are consumed globally.
 There are four basic types of true tea:
 black tea
 oolong tea
 green tea
 white tea.

4.  The term herbal tea usually refers to
infusions of fruit or of herbs such as
 Rosehip
 Chamomile
 jiaogulan
that contain no C. sinensis.
 Alternative terms for herbal tea
 tisane
 herbal infusion

5.  Tea is a natural source of
 amino acid theanine
 methylxanthines such as
 caffeine
 theobromine
 polyphenolic antioxidant catechins.
 It has almost no carbohydrates, fat, or protein.
 It has a
 cooling
 mildly fragrant
 slightly bitter
 astringent
flavor.

6.  2004: new high world tea production
 grew by 2 %
 reach an estimated 3.2 million tones
 FAO’s report for the Intergovernmental Group on Tea
meeting in Bali (20-22 July 2005).
 The expansion was due the increases in:
 Turkey
 China
 Kenya
 Malawi
 Sri Lanka
 Indonesia.

7.  China: 800 000 tones milestone.
 Sri Lanka: 309 000 tones.
 Indonesia: 170 000 tones.
 Turkey: 205 500 tones.
 Kenya: 328 000 tones.
 Malawi: 50 000 tones.
 India: 820 200 tones
(declined by 4.3%).
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
1st Qtr
China
Sri Lanka
Indonesia
Turkey
Kenya
Malawi
India

8.  in 2004 world tea exports
 increased by 4.4 percent
 reached 1.47 million tonnes
 The largest exporters
 Kenya: almost 293 000 tones (8.9 % increase)
 Sri Lanka
 Indonesia: increase 8.9%.
 China: reached 282 000 tones (> 7 %)
 dominated by green tea (> 75 %).
Importers (2004)
 EC (an increase of 2.4 %) = 215 000 tones
 US (5.3 %) = 99 000 tones
 Japan (2 %) = 56 000 tones
 in response to promotional efforts on the health
benefits of tea consumption.

9.  In 2004, according to FAO
 opened at US$1.56 per kg in January
 closed at US$1.73 per kg in December
 A recent study on the market evolution
between 1993/1995 and 2001/2003:
 out of 27 agricultural commodities, tea showed
the second lowest variability in prices:
 2% decline compared to
 39% for cocoa
 38% for coffee.

10.  Kingdom: Plantae
 Division: Spermatophyte
 Subdivision: Angiospermae
 Class: Dicotyledoneae
 Order: Guttiferales
 Family: Theaceae
 Genus: Camelia
 Species: Camelia sinensis

11.  The genus Camellia covers over 260 species.
 It is an important plant:
 economically: Camellia sinensis
 horticulturally: Camellia japonica
 increasing number of interspecies hybrids (evergreen
ornamental shrubs and trees).
 The tea plant is an evergreen shrub or small tree
that may reach 30 feet if unpruned.
 It is adapted to sub-tropical areas.
 tolerate some frost.

12.  The leaves are
 lanceolate
 glabrous: without hairs
 but sometimes pubescent on lower surface
 2 to 5 inches long.
 The harvested portions are the succulent short tips
and young leaves.
 Including older leaves reduces the quality of the tea.
 Leaves are harvested at intervals of 2 weeks or
less.

13.  Tea plant is an evergreen plant and grows in
 tropical and sub-tropical climates
 prefers acidic soils
 heavy rainfall
 elevations up to 1524 meters.
 Grown in rows or on terraces
 4 feet apart and 4-5 feet tall
 Help irrigation and prevent soil erosion

14.  Only the top 1-2 in of the mature plant are
picked.
 called flushes
 new flushes are produced every 7 – 10 days
during the growing season.
 Vegetative Propagation
 A variety can be grown vegetatively without
going through the usual cycle of annual
growth.
 Cuttings obtained from mother bush
 Rooted & grown in nursery for 1- 2 years
 Can also be grown from seeds

15.  Planting
 Planting is a crucial operation
 determines the development and productive level
of tea throughout its economic life.
 Wrong planting of good planting materials
affects the plant productivity.
 For long term benefits, techniques of:
 care
 planning
 refinement
are essential.

16.  Pruning
 cultivated plants are pruned for ease of
plucking
 helps in maintaining the plant as a low bush in
a phase of continuous vegetative growth.
 stimulates and controls growth.
 helps rejuvenate bushes that have crossed the
period of maximum productivity.
 Tea plants will grow into a tree if undisturbed
 Chinese tea (C. sinensis var sinensis): 3 meters.
 Assam variety (C. sinensis var. assamica or
C. assamica): 6 -20 meters.

17.  Fertilizer
 To replenish the nutrients removed from
 the plant as yield
 the soil by the plant for its growth
 Nutrient requirements should be
 related to local soil conditions
 must be monitored continuously to ensure an
optimum balance of nutrients.

18.  Weed control
 Weeds affect tea by competing with it for
 moisture
 nutrients
 sunlight.
 The effect of weeds:
 a reduction in yield.
 as secondary hosts for some important pests.
 The timing of weed emergence relative to the
growth stages of tea is an important parameter
in weed management

19.  Pest Management
 Optimal management of the pests should
consider
 ecologically
 economically.
 The presence of mites and insects
 their characteristic mode of feeding
 diverse habitat and seasonal cycles

20.  White
 Green Tea
 Oolong Tea
 Black Tea
 (Brick Tea)
 (Scented Tea)

21.  Processing tea is considered the art of tea.
 taste, body, and overall character are created.
 Basic form:
 the raw green leaves
 whether or not, and how much oxidation (or
fermentation) should take place.
 Tea leaves have enzymes in their veins.
 When the leaf is broken, bruised, or crushed, the
enzymes are exposed to the air resulting in oxidation.
 The amount of oxidation depends upon how much
of the enzymes are exposed and for how long.

22. The Processing of White Tea
 does not go through any oxidation at all.
 the leaves are immediately fired or steamed after
letting them wither (air dry) for a period of time.
 to prevent oxidation,
 no rolling, breaking, or bruising of any kind.
 The dried buds have a silver-like appearance
 the most popular white tea called Silver Needle.
 White teas are the least processed of any tea
 taste like fresh leaves or grass.
 They also have the lowest amount of caffeine and
most likely have the highest antioxidant properties

23. The Processing of Green Tea
 similar to white tea  no oxidation.
 the leaves are laid out to wither for 8 - 24 hours.
 most of the water evaporate.
 the leaves are steamed or pan fried.
 to neutralize the enzymes  preventing oxidation
 leaves are rolled up in various ways and tightness.
 a final drying takes place.
 no oxidation  has more of a green appearance.
 it goes off to be sorted, graded, and packaged.
 closer to tasting like fresh leaves or grass
 lower in caffeine, higher in antioxidant.

24. The Processing of Oolong Tea
 requires only a partial oxidation of the leaves.
 The leaves are laid out to wither for 8 to 24 hours.
 This lets most of the water evaporate.
 The leaves are tossed in baskets
 to bruise the edges of the leaves.
 the leaves partially oxidized, only a portion of the
enzymes are exposed to air.
 leaves steamed to neutralize the enzymes and
stop any oxidation.
 Oolong tea can have varying degrees of oxidation.
 Some are closer to black teas, some closer to green.
 a final drying takes place.
 it goes off to be sorted, graded, and packaged.

25. The Processing of Black Tea
 requires a full oxidation of the leaves.
 The leaves are laid out to wither for 8 to 24 hours.
 This lets most of the water evaporate.
 The leaves are rolled to crack up the surface
 O2 will react with the enzymes the oxidation process.
 The leaves are left to completely oxidize
 turning the leaves to a deep black color.
 a final drying takes place.
 it goes off to be sorted, graded, and packaged.

27. Brick Tea:
 usually pressed into brick shape, is mainly
produced in Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan and
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
 Brick tea is made from black tea or green tea and
is pressed into blocks.
 The most famous one is "Pu'er Tea" made in
Yunnan province.

28. Scented Tea:
 very popular in Northern China
 a mixture of green tea with flower petals of
 rose
 Jasmine
 Orchid
 Plum
through an elaborate process.
 Among this type, jasmine tea is common.

29.  The active compounds in green tea are from
a group of polyphenols called catechins
 Four catechins present in green tea:
 Epicatechingallate
 Epicatechin
 Epigallocatechin
 Epigallocatechingallate

31. Contain polyphenols (catechin):
 25% of dry weight of fresh tea leaves
 Mostly in white and green tea
 Antioxidants
Caffeine per 6-oz. cup
 Espresso (2oz.): 60-90mg
 Drip coffee: 60-165mg
 Black tea: 25-110mg
 Oolong tea: 12-55mg
 Green tea: 8-16mg

32.  Moderate consumption offers protection against:
 heart and blood vessel disease
 some cancers
 bacterial infections. Tea is a natural and healthy drink.
 Nowadays, more than half of the world 5 billions
population drink tea.
 Tea is refreshing and helps you work efficiently.
 Tea is a thirst quencher and aids digestion of food.
 Tea helps to disinfect and alleviate inflammation;
helps urinary output and purge toxin.
 Tea makes nutrition sense and is good for health.

33.  Improving immune system and preventing cancers
 Slowing down aging process
 Preventing loss of bone calcium
 Alleviating blood lipoid, cholesterol, blood pressure,
and arteriosclerosis
 Helping sterilization and reinforcing teeth and
intestine
 Reducing urine hyperacidity and gout
 Eliminate body fat
 Preventing sunburn and resisting UV

34.  Tea is also rich in various vitamins
 for smokers, it helps to discharge nicotine out of the
system.
 Antioxidant
 With HIV the epigallocatechingallate acts as a
block to the HIV transport protein on the host
cell
 Cancer
 Epigallocatechingallate has been shown to
inhibit angiogenesis of tumor cell and thus not
allowing them to become cancerous.
 This is achieved by stopping the production of
angiogenic compounds in the tumor cells.
 Weight loss

35.  Green tea stops angiogenesis
 Stops blood flow to tumor
 Mice given green tea
 EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) slowed
angiogenesis
 Green tea induced apoptosis
 Increases normal cell growth while promoting
programmed cell death
 Mice given green tea over a 4 month period
 tumors suppressed

36. Disadvantages of Tea-Drinking
 Too much tannic acid will affect the secretion of
the gastric juice, irritate the membrane of the
stomach and cause indigestion or constipation.
 Strong tea taken just before bedtime will give rise
to occasional insomnia.
 Constant drinking of over-strong tea may induce
heart and blood-pressure disorders
 in some people, reduce the milk of a breast-feeding
mother, and put a brown color on the teeth of young
people.
 just don't make your tea too strong.