Tea is grown primarily in China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Republic of Korea,Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Nepal, Australia, Argentina, and Kenya.
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The four main types of tea are distinguished by their processing. Camellia sinensis is an evergreen shrub whose leaves, if not quickly dried after picking, soon begin to wilt and oxidize. This process resembles the malting of barley, in that starch is converted into sugars; the leaves turn progressively darker, as chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. The next step in processing is to stop the oxidation process at a predetermined stage by removing the water from the tea leaves via heating.
The term fermentation is used to describe this process, even though no true fermentation happens. Without careful moisture and temperature control, fungi will grow on tea. The fungi will cause fermentation which will contaminate the tea with toxic substances. In fact, when real fermentation happens, the tea must be discarded.
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Tea is classified into four main groups, based on the degree or period of oxidation the leaves have undergone:
White tea
Young leaves (new growth buds) that have undergone no oxidation; the buds may be shielded from sunlight to prevent formation of chlorophyll.
Green tea
The oxidation process is stopped after a minimal amount of oxidation by application of heat; either with steam, a traditional Japanese method; or by drying on hot pans, the traditional Chinese method. The tea is processed within one to two days of harvesting.
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Oolong
Oxidation is stopped somewhere between the standards for green tea and black tea. The oxidation process will take 2 to 3 days.
Black tea
Substantial oxidation; the literal translation of the Chinese word is red tea, which may be used by some tea-lovers. The oxidation process will take around 2 weeks and up to 1 month . Black tea is further classified as either orthodox or CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl, a production method developed about 1932). Unblended black teas are also identified by the estate they come from, they year and the flush (first, second or autumn). Orthodox and CTC teas are further graded according to the post-production leaf quality by the Orange Pekoe system.
White tea
is produced in lesser quantities than most of the other styles, and can be correspondingly more expensive than tea from the same plant processed by other methods. It is also less well-known in the U.S., though that is changing with the introduction of white tea in bagged form.