SEEDS & SPICES

Tea, beverage produced by steeping in freshly boiled water the young leaves and leaf buds of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Two principal varieties are used, the small-leaved China plant (C. sinensis variety sinensis) and the largeleaved Assam plant (C. sinensis variety assamica). Hybrids of these two varieties are also grown. 

Teas are classified according to region of origin, or by smaller district from India, Sri Lanka, China’s Anhwei Province, and Japan.  Teas are also classified by the size of the processed leaf. The most important classification is by the manufacturing process, resulting in the three categories of fermented (black), unfermented (green), and semifermented (oolong or pouchong).