Tea is a product made from the leaves or buds of the tea bush Camellia sinensis. It is commonly consumed in the form of a beverage made by steeping it in hot water for a few minutes. The English word tea derives from the Chinese 茶, pronounced te in the Min Nan dialect. The flavour of the raw tea is developed by processes including oxidation, heating, drying and the addition of other herbs, spices, or f ...

Including:

• Tea - Cultivation
• Tea - Processing and classification
• Tea - Blending and additives
• Tea - Content of Tea
• Tea - Tea origin and early history in Asia
• Tea - Tea creation myths
• Tea - China
• Tea - Japan
• Tea - Tea spreads to the world
• Tea - The word tea
• Tea - Tea culture
• Tea - China
• Tea - Vietnam
• Tea - Britain
• Tea - Hong Kong
• Tea - Iran
• Tea - Ireland
• Tea - India
• Tea - Pakistan
• Tea - Sri Lanka
• Tea - Turkey
• Tea - Russia
• Tea - Czech Republic
• Tea - Commonwealth countries
• Tea - United States
• Tea - Japan
• Tea - Taiwan
• Tea - Tibet
• Tea - Tea preparation
• Tea - Enjoying tea the modern way

Read more here: » Tea: Encyclopedia - Tea

Main article: Tea blending and additives Almost all teas in tea-bags and most other teas sold in western countries are blends. Blending may occur at the level of tea-planting area (e.g., Assam), or teas from many areas may be blended. The aim of blending is a stable taste over different years, and a better price. More expensive, more tasty tea may cover the inferior taste of cheaper tea. There are various teas which have additives and/or different processing than "pure" varieties. Tea is able to easily receive any aroma, which may cause problems in processing, transportation or storage of tea, but can be als ...

See also:

Tea, Tea - Cultivation, Tea - Processing and classification, Tea - Blending and additives, Tea - Content of Tea, Tea - Tea origin and early history in Asia, Tea - Tea creation myths, Tea - China, Tea - Japan, Tea - Tea spreads to the world, Tea - The word tea, Tea - Tea culture, Tea - China, Tea - Vietnam, Tea - Britain, Tea - Hong Kong, Tea - Iran, Tea - Ireland, Tea - India, Tea - Pakistan, Tea - Sri Lanka, Tea - Turkey, Tea - Russia, Tea - Czech Republic, Tea - Commonwealth countries, Tea - United States, Tea - Japan, Tea - Taiwan, Tea - Tibet, Tea - Tea preparation, Tea - Enjoying tea the modern way

Read more here: » Tea: Encyclopedia II - Tea - Blending and additives

Tea is often drunk at social events, such as afternoon tea and the tea party. It may be drunk early in the day to heighten alertness; it contains theophylline and bound caffeine (sometimes called "theine"), although there are also decaffeinated teas. There are tea ceremonies which have arisen in different cultures, Japan's complex, formal and serene one being the most known. Other examples are the Korean tea ceremony or some traditional ways of brewing tea in Chinese tea culture. Tea - China. Main article: Chinese tea culture ...

See also:

Tea, Tea - Cultivation, Tea - Processing and classification, Tea - Blending and additives, Tea - Content of Tea, Tea - Tea origin and early history in Asia, Tea - Tea creation myths, Tea - China, Tea - Japan, Tea - Tea spreads to the world, Tea - The word tea, Tea - Tea culture, Tea - China, Tea - Vietnam, Tea - Britain, Tea - Hong Kong, Tea - Iran, Tea - Ireland, Tea - India, Tea - Pakistan, Tea - Sri Lanka, Tea - Turkey, Tea - Russia, Tea - Czech Republic, Tea - Commonwealth countries, Tea - United States, Tea - Japan, Tea - Taiwan, Tea - Tibet, Tea - Tea preparation, Tea - Enjoying tea the modern way

Read more here: » Tea: Encyclopedia II - Tea - Tea culture

This section describes the most widespread method of making tea. Completely different methods are used in North Africa, Tibet and perhaps in other places. The best way to prepare tea is usually thought to be with loose tea placed either directly in a teapot or contained in a tea infuser, rather than a teabag. However, perfectly acceptable tea can be made with teabags. Some circumvent the teapot stage altogether and ...

See also:

Tea, Tea - Cultivation, Tea - Processing and classification, Tea - Blending and additives, Tea - Content of Tea, Tea - Tea origin and early history in Asia, Tea - Tea creation myths, Tea - China, Tea - Japan, Tea - Tea spreads to the world, Tea - The word tea, Tea - Tea culture, Tea - China, Tea - Vietnam, Tea - Britain, Tea - Hong Kong, Tea - Iran, Tea - Ireland, Tea - India, Tea - Pakistan, Tea - Sri Lanka, Tea - Turkey, Tea - Russia, Tea - Czech Republic, Tea - Commonwealth countries, Tea - United States, Tea - Japan, Tea - Taiwan, Tea - Tibet, Tea - Tea preparation, Tea - Enjoying tea the modern way

Read more here: » Tea: Encyclopedia II - Tea - Tea preparation

The Chinese character for tea is 茶, but it is pronounced very differently in the various Chinese dialects. Two pronunciations have made their way into other languages around the world. One is 'te' (POJ: tê) which comes from the Min Nan dialect spoken around the port of Xiamen (Amoy). The other is 'cha', used by the Cantonese dialect spoken around the ports of Guangzhou (Canton) and Hong Kong, as well as in the Mandarin dialect of northern China. Yet another different pronunciation is 'zoo', use ...

See also:

Tea, Tea - Cultivation, Tea - Processing and classification, Tea - Blending and additives, Tea - Content of Tea, Tea - Tea origin and early history in Asia, Tea - Tea creation myths, Tea - China, Tea - Japan, Tea - Tea spreads to the world, Tea - The word tea, Tea - Tea culture, Tea - China, Tea - Vietnam, Tea - Britain, Tea - Hong Kong, Tea - Iran, Tea - Ireland, Tea - India, Tea - Pakistan, Tea - Sri Lanka, Tea - Turkey, Tea - Russia, Tea - Czech Republic, Tea - Commonwealth countries, Tea - United States, Tea - Japan, Tea - Taiwan, Tea - Tibet, Tea - Tea preparation, Tea - Enjoying tea the modern way

Read more here: » Tea: Encyclopedia II - Tea - The word tea

The cradle of the tea plant is in Southeast Asia. Spontaneous growth of assamica variant is observed in area ranging from Chinese province Yunnan to the northern part of Myanmar and Assam region of India. The variant sinensis grows naturally in eastern and southeastern regions of China. [5] Recent studies and occurence of hybrids of the two types in wider area extending over mentioned regions suggest the place of orig ...

See also:

Tea, Tea - Cultivation, Tea - Processing and classification, Tea - Blending and additives, Tea - Content of Tea, Tea - Tea origin and early history in Asia, Tea - Tea creation myths, Tea - China, Tea - Japan, Tea - Tea spreads to the world, Tea - The word tea, Tea - Tea culture, Tea - China, Tea - Vietnam, Tea - Britain, Tea - Hong Kong, Tea - Iran, Tea - Ireland, Tea - India, Tea - Pakistan, Tea - Sri Lanka, Tea - Turkey, Tea - Russia, Tea - Czech Republic, Tea - Commonwealth countries, Tea - United States, Tea - Japan, Tea - Taiwan, Tea - Tibet, Tea - Tea preparation, Tea - Enjoying tea the modern way

Read more here: » Tea: Encyclopedia II - Tea - Tea origin and early history in Asia

Tea is produced from leaves and leaf buds of Camellia sinensis, the tea plant. All tea varieties, such as green, oolong, and black tea, are harvested from this species, but differ by processing. While in nature the tea tree may grow to 5 to 15 meters, and sometimes even to 30 meters[1], planted tea shrubs are usually trimmed to below two metres (six feet), to stimulate the growth of leaves and to ease plucking. Many infectious insects, including the green leafhopper, mites, caterpillars, and termites, ...

See also:

Tea, Tea - Cultivation, Tea - Processing and classification, Tea - Blending and additives, Tea - Content of Tea, Tea - Tea origin and early history in Asia, Tea - Tea creation myths, Tea - China, Tea - Japan, Tea - Tea spreads to the world, Tea - The word tea, Tea - Tea culture, Tea - China, Tea - Vietnam, Tea - Britain, Tea - Hong Kong, Tea - Iran, Tea - Ireland, Tea - India, Tea - Pakistan, Tea - Sri Lanka, Tea - Turkey, Tea - Russia, Tea - Czech Republic, Tea - Commonwealth countries, Tea - United States, Tea - Japan, Tea - Taiwan, Tea - Tibet, Tea - Tea preparation, Tea - Enjoying tea the modern way

Read more here: » Tea: Encyclopedia II - Tea - Cultivation

The main types of tea are distinguished by their processing. Leaves of Camellia sinensis, if not dried quickly after picking, soon begin to wilt and oxidise. This process resembles the malting of barley, in that starch is converted into sugars; the leaves turn progressively darker, as chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. The next step in processing is to stop the oxidation process at a predetermined sta ...

See also:

Tea, Tea - Cultivation, Tea - Processing and classification, Tea - Blending and additives, Tea - Content of Tea, Tea - Tea origin and early history in Asia, Tea - Tea creation myths, Tea - China, Tea - Japan, Tea - Tea spreads to the world, Tea - The word tea, Tea - Tea culture, Tea - China, Tea - Vietnam, Tea - Britain, Tea - Hong Kong, Tea - Iran, Tea - Ireland, Tea - India, Tea - Pakistan, Tea - Sri Lanka, Tea - Turkey, Tea - Russia, Tea - Czech Republic, Tea - Commonwealth countries, Tea - United States, Tea - Japan, Tea - Taiwan, Tea - Tibet, Tea - Tea preparation, Tea - Enjoying tea the modern way

Read more here: » Tea: Encyclopedia II - Tea - Processing and classification

As the Venetian explorer Marco Polo failed to mention tea in his travel records, it is conjectured that the first Europeans to encounter tea were either Jesuits living in Beijing who attended the court of the last Ming Emperors; or Portuguese explorers visiting Japan in 1560. Russia discovered tea in 1618 after a Ming Emperor of China offered it as a gift to Czar Michael I. Soon imported tea was introduced to Europe, where it quickly became popular among the wealthy in France and the Netherlands. English use of tea dates from about 1650 and is attributed to Catherine of Braganza (Portuguese princ ...

See also:

Tea, Tea - Cultivation, Tea - Processing and classification, Tea - Blending and additives, Tea - Content of Tea, Tea - Tea origin and early history in Asia, Tea - Tea creation myths, Tea - China, Tea - Japan, Tea - Tea spreads to the world, Tea - The word tea, Tea - Tea culture, Tea - China, Tea - Vietnam, Tea - Britain, Tea - Hong Kong, Tea - Iran, Tea - Ireland, Tea - India, Tea - Pakistan, Tea - Sri Lanka, Tea - Turkey, Tea - Russia, Tea - Czech Republic, Tea - Commonwealth countries, Tea - United States, Tea - Japan, Tea - Taiwan, Tea - Tibet, Tea - Tea preparation, Tea - Enjoying tea the modern way

Read more here: » Tea: Encyclopedia II - Tea - Tea spreads to the world