Tea In General
In the tea industry, tea is defined as the dried processed leaves of Camellia sinensis, or Thea sinesis. Commercially, there are three major varieties of Camellia sinensis: the China type, the India (Assam region) type, and the Hybrid type (a cross breed of the China and India types). The China type tea plant has small leaves and usually grows well at higher altitudes. The India or Assam type has larger leaves and cultivates best at lower elevations. The Hybrid falls somewhere in between the China and India types.
There are four major types of tea: White, Green, Oolong and Black. Interestingly, all these teas come from the raw leaves
of the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis. What distinguishes each category is the method used when processing the tea leaves. The way the leaves are processed-steamed, fermented (oxidized), dried, or bruised-gives the tea the special characteristics of its category.