The Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis)

  

Properly speaking, tea is the beverage brewed from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant or varietals of such. Its wide variety of incarnations, such as green, black, oolong, and white teas, are created by different processing methods, but all derive ultimately from the same plant. The flavor of tea depends not only upon how the tea was processed, but also in what part of the world the plant grew, the time of year the leaves were harvested, what the weather was like that season, the soil conditions, altitude etc..

Green tea originated in China where it was enjoyed for centuries before being introduced to the outside world through trade. Today, green tea is produced in various countries utilizing their own methods creating vast differences in taste and aroma.There are many factors that influence green tea’s flavor and character such as varietal harvested, the season in which it was harvested, the soil, elevation, weather conditions and the method of heat used to stop the oxidation process shortly after being harvested. There are literally hundreds of different types of green teas that are classified by the manufacturing style. While discovering green tea, one will note the variety of different shapes ranging from flat, balled, curly or twisted.
Green tea is high in antioxidants, especially epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, which has therapeutic properties for many disorders including cancer. Studies show drinking green tea regularly can reduce your chances of heart disease and certain types of cancer, improve artery function, lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol.