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There are three types of tea that are most familiar, and these are the Assam (India) variety, the China variety and the hybrid varieties. These three types, the India, China and hybrids are from the same species of the Camellia sinensis plant; it adopts different growth patterns to match the ecosystem in which it is growing. The hybridization between the India and China teas brought about the hybrid teas.

Camellia Sinensis Growing in Many Places

The large leafed Assam is a tree that can grow to sixty-five feet in the wild, although when it is domesticated for its leaves, its height is kept to about forty inches or so. The China variety is also known as Walden’s Camellia, and it has smaller leaves, a bushier appearance and can grow to be about ten feet tall. There is also a Cambodian Camellia sinensis. Apart from these main types, there are more than a hundred varieties of the Camellia sinensis plant, which grows all over the world now. The teas from different areas offer their own individual qualities in the resulting beverage.

Since the Camellia sinensis is grown in many areas, the leaves are named after the place where it is grown. That is why the word Assam, which is a place in India and the word China are used as names for the products of the same plant. There are green and white varieties from Assam and the China hybrid variety which is called Wulong or Oo-long. The five main types of China tea are green (Longjin), black, Wulong, scented - Jasmine, rose, etc. and compressed.

Chewing the Leaf and Elaborate Rituals

Used for thousands of years in the India, China and Myanmar region, the leaves from the tea tree have also been used by being chewed instead of being steeped in hot water. Tea is the main feature of an elaborate and ritual drinking style that involves different tea drinking art forms that were developed and used in China and shared with Japan.

Different Preparation Methods

The leaves of the Camellia sinensis are treated differently when prepared, which produces the main types of commercial teas, including black, green, white and oolong varieties. The different preparation methods for the tea leaves are responsible for the different scents, colors and flavors of the teas.

Tea from the Camellia sinensis plant should not be confused with the herbal teas made from a variety of plant types that are not the Camellia sinensis. Though both are steeped to create a drinkable beverage, the word “tea” means the beverage made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to most tea connoisseurs.