Camellia Sinensis

Camellia Sinensis – is the plant from which all teas derive. It's a sub-tropical, evergreen plant native to China. However since the early 19th century, when it was brought to India, it is grown around the world. Depending on the season when the leaves of Camellia Sinensis are harvested and on the different techniques that are used to process the leaves after the harvest, different kinds of tea come to life. Therefore "tea" is everything that is derived from the Camellia Sinensis plant. There are different varietals of the Camellia Sinensis plant. The most common ones are Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis and Camellia Sinensis var. Assamica.

Plants that don't belong to the Camellia Sinensis family, while sometimes called "tea", are more accurately referred to as herbal tea or tisane. Tisanes include chamomile, rooibos and fruit teas.

Camellia Sinensis var. Assamica – is one of the tea varieties, and it is often referred to as Da Ye Zhong in Chinese, meaning "big leaf". Indeed, this Camellia Sinensis variety is known for its larger tea leaves. This variety grows not as cultivated buses of var. Sinensis but as wild trees, often with strong trunks. This tea variety is known to have a slightly higher caffeine content than Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis. Yunnan native, this varietal is used to produce pu-erh tea, Dian Hong (Yunnan black tea), and Yunnan white tea.

Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis – is the most common, cultivated tea varietal.