Tea from different parts of the world

Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, second only to water. Tea originated in China about 4000years ago. According to a famous Chinese legend, a Chinese emperor accidentally invented tea when some leaves fell in to his cup of hot water. Since then tea has become an important refreshing beverage allover the world. The tea plant belongs to Camellia family and the Sinensis species.

Tea culture is not only restricted to China or Japan, but is widely spread in the Asian countries, European countries and Middle East. Although tea originated in China, later it was taken to Japan and to various other pars of the world including India and Sri Lanka. Now India and China is considered to be the largest producer of tea in the world. There are different types of tea available globally and are consumed in different ways. There are more than 3, 000 varieties of tea in the world, but the basic types are black, green and white.

In China, green tea is widely in use. Green tea is mainly grown in the southern parts of China. The sub tropical climate and fertile soil seen in the southern parts of China are very suitable for growing tea. The best green tea is grown in West Lake, Huang Shan or Er Mei Shan, which are regions with exceptional natural beauty. In these places tea has been cultivated for thousands of years. Lung Ching tea, the most famous among the green teas of China comes from the West Lake in Zhejiang province.

Lung Ching tea was given the name Imperial tea by Emperor Qian Long. On the edge of the arid North China plain is Xing Yang which is famous for Mao Jian tea since Tang Dynasty. The processed tealeaves are in fine, taut strips, they make delicious tea with a chest nut flavor.Puto Fo Cha tea comes from the Mt. puto, one of the three hundred islands of the Zhoushan Archipelago outside the Yangtze estury. Puto Fo Cho is one among the five best tea in China. This tea is sold only in this island. it is believed to be a remedy for diarrhoea and for lung lesions

Black tea varieties produced in different part of China includes Souchong tea which comes from the Wuyi mountain city of Fujian province. This tea has a pine-smoked aroma. Lap sang Souchog is said to be the finest in this category. Pu Erh tea comes from the Yunnan province of China, also known as the Province of “eternal spring”. Pu

Erh is a city in the south of Yunnan and is the largest trade market for tea in China. Pu Erh tea is the national drink of China. Pu Erh city has natural vitamin and mineral depositions, which helps in producing good quality tea and has the most medicinal properties than any of the black tea varieties in China.

In Japan, Sencha green tea is the most widely consumed tea. Sencha tea is grown under the full sun. Another variety of green tea grown in Japan, which is slightly expensive, is the Gyokuro green tea. Although these varieties are produced in many localities in Japan, the majority comes from the Shizuoka prefecture, which lies to the south of Tokyo.

Another part of Japan, where good quality green tea is produced is Uji, which is near Koyoto. About 25% of the green tea that come from Japan is produced in Kagoshima which is superior in quality.

Black tea is popular in South Asia and it is grown in abundance in Assam and Darjeeling. Black tea, in India, is commonly called the “wake up tea” or “chai”. British smuggled the seeds of tea plant from china into colonial India.

Assam is the largest producer of tea in India. It is famous all over the world for its strong flavor and refreshing aroma. Darjeeling is famous for green tea. It is infact one of the largest producer of green tea in the world. India also has tea plantations in Kerala and TamilNadu states. In local Indian market, the Nilgiri teas which comes from a hill station in TamilNadu, is in great demand. In Kerala, Idukki and Wyanad districts have considerable tea production.  Because of its geographical position and climatic conditions which suits the growth of tea plants, India is able to export huge quantities of various tea varieties to different countries of the world. The pre-prepared Indian tea or chai is in great demand ii Middle East Asia, U.S.A and Europe.

Ceylon or Sri Lanka is also one of the leading producers of tea. Paradise tropical tea, a popular choice of iced tea, is made with organically grown black tea in the tropical plantations of Sri Lanka. This is commonly known as Ceylon tea and flavored with juice extract of mango, papaya and passion fruit.

Ceylon Sonata, a finest grade tea is produced in the tea estates of the Kandy region. Ceylon Waltz, another premium product, whose leaves are marked by long silver lines, is produced in the Dambulla region. 

In Sri Lanka, tea is grown all year round. The tropical climate of Sri Lanka is unique and hence provides even growing conditions for producing the rarest and special forms of black and green trees.

Another continent that is contributing to 30% of the world’s production of tea is Africa, where Kenya, Zimbabwe and Malawi are the major producing countries. The good climate in Africa as well as the advances in growing techniques of tea has made tea production in Africa reach a new peak and more and more people are now involved in the production of tea there.

With a wide range of tea from various countries round the world, there will be always a new variant of tea for one to taste and savor throughout his life.