
Tea comes from the evergreen bush, Camellia sinensis, and is manufactured into black, green, oolong or white tea, depending on how it is processed. The terroir – climate, soil and topography – are key in winemaking and similar conditions are essential in tea growing, too. Just like wine, the quality of the leaves depends on when and where they were picked, the climate, the soil conditions and the altitude of the plants. For the tea plant to flourish it needs temperatures of between 10-27⁰C, and up to 2 ⅟4 metres of rainfall per year, combined with elevations of between 300 – 2000 metres above sea level, slightly acidic soil and good drainage. The main tea producers are countries that offer these ideal growing conditions, including China, which produces a mixture of green and black tea; India, which cultivates mainly black tea; Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), which produces mainly black tea; Japan for green and Taiwan (Formosa) for green and oolong, a semi fermented or partially oxidised tea.