Homegrown Tea: An Illustrated Guide to Planting, Harvesting, and Blending Teas and Tisanes

LEAVES

The Tea Plant

Camellia sinensis

There are hundreds of species of camellia plants, grown in gardens all over the world for their beautiful flowers and dark green glossy foliage. Only one species of camellia is used to make tea, however, and that is Camellia sinensis. All tea—white, green, oolong, and black—is made from this plant.

The tea plant is native to the high mountain ranges of the Yunnan province in southern China; sinensis actually means from China. There are two main varieties from which tea is made, Camellia sinensis var. sinensis and Camellia sinensis var. assamica. Camellia sinensis var. sinensis (which I refer to as simply sinensis in this book) has smaller green leaves than assamica, and it is a strong hardy plant. This plant is best suited to the growing conditions in China and Japan. In 1823, Major Robert Bruce, who was working for the East India Company at the time, discovered Camellia sinensis var. assamica in Assam, in northern India. Assamica is grown predominantly in India, Africa, and Sri Lanka. Hundreds of hybrids and cultivars of these two varieties have been developed over the years.

Growing tea is as complex as growing grapes in a vineyard. The climate and soil directly influence the distinct flavor of the tea. Each country, each region, and even each producer will have their own distinct methods of growing and processing tea leaves. The world of tea is vast and the variations produced are many. Even tea produced on the same plantation over the course of one year can have large seasonal flavor differences. By growing your own tea, you will have the opportunity to experience your own homegrown tea flavor. In this chapter, I give a general and simplified introduction to the main differences between the methods of producing white, green, and black tea. I have created a way to process your own tea at home, based on information of how tea is processed all over the world. You will be using tiny quantities of leaf and processing by hand, so the method and the results will be very different from tea grown and processed commercially. Even so, I hope it will give you an insight into the world of tea and help you to understand the tremendous experience and expertise tea producers have.

To Grow

Camellia sinensis loves to grow at high altitudes, where misty mornings and evenings allow the plant to absorb a lot of moisture. They like the warmth and light of the sun during the day. If you don’t live at high altitude, do not fear—you can still grow camellias. Try to plant your camellia in a sunny or partly shaded location and make sure that it has plenty of water—preferably rainwater—especially if you are growing it in a container.

It is very slow to grow tea from seeds. They take four to five weeks to germinate, so I recommend you buy one or two plants to start with. Tea plants are large enough to be harvested from when they are three or four years old, so try to get as mature a plant as possible. The sinensis variety is slower growing than assamica, and the leaves produce a lighter taste, but it is hardier and more resilient to frosts. Tea plants are not grown widely so you will probably not get a choice in which tea variety you can buy. I have listed a few suppliers in the back of this book.

You can grow your camellia in the ground or in a container. It needs well-drained, acidic soil with a pH of 5 or less. If your soil is not acidic, you can mix in leaf mold, bark, or mushroom compost. If your soil is very alkaline, it might be easier to grow camellias in a raised bed or a container. You may need to repot your camellia every one or two years, or when you first buy it if the roots are pot bound. Choose a container larger than the existing pot and make sure it has good drainage holes. Mix perlite (naturally occurring volcanic rock) or fine grit into ericaceous soil or acidic compost that is specially formulated compost for acid loving plants. (More information about repotting). They like a warm, sunny, or partly shaded location. They do not like direct heat over a prolonged time, such as next to a south-facing wall, so if you live in a warm climate, plant your camellia where it will have sun for part of the day and then shade. Mulch around your plant with bark to a depth of about 1 inch (2 to 3 cm). Camellia sinensis can tolerate cold and frost to 14°F (-10°C). If the plant is potted, however, the roots are more vulnerable to cold, especially if they are wet, so you may need to protect them with fleece. Fleece is a polypropylene fabric through which light, air, and rain can pass, unlike other fabrics. You can create a framework of canes around the plant and use pegs to attach the fleece, making sure the ground immediately around the plant is also covered. Or you can simply lay the fleece over the plant (and pot if its in one) so that it is totally covered, removing it if the temperature is warm enough during the day. It creates a warm pocket of air around the plant to help protect the leaves and roots from any drop in temperature. The more layers of fleece used, the greater the frost protection. Ask your supplier to give you specific advice on how many layers to use for your