Growing a tea bush is possible only in a warm climate, similar to tropical or subtropical. Different countries specialize in the production of different teas.
How tea grows
The technology and conditions for growing tea in a tropical climate are very simple. On the plantation, cuttings or one-two-year-old saplings of a tea bush driven out of seeds are planted. The first harvest of leaves can be removed as early as 4-5 years after planting. Tea bushes are pruned many times throughout their life, thus forming a strong growth of a large number of side shoots.
The tea plantation usually consists of one and a half meter bushes, planted in rows. The width of the passages between them is also 1-1.5 m. A large mass of leaves on tea grows at the age of 50-60 years, but some varieties give harvests of leaves up to 80-100 years. If the climate is favorable, the growth of the tea bush is up to a meter per year, but it is very difficult to comply with these conditions. An important requirement is warm summers and autumn, and at the same time very cold winters. If this regime is not followed, tea practically stops growing, and it also becomes susceptible to many different diseases.
The period of active vegetation in tea is very short, the active growth of shoots and leaves lasts only about a month, and then this happens only in spring. At the same time, tea has two long hibernation periods - summer and winter. Summer hibernation is not such in full, since the shoots are coarsening, their slight growth and the formation of flowers.
Tea bushes need a long daylight hours, since the concentration of aromatic substances in the tea leaf directly depends on the abundance of sunlight. With a lack of sunlight, the leaf becomes rough, odorless, with a herbaceous taste.
An important condition in connection with which tea is grown mainly in the mountains is the presence of clean and humid air for the bushes, as well as the height above sea level. In environmentally unfavorable conditions, the tea bush will not grow, since it is extremely sensitive to air pollution.
Where does tea grow
Tea is cultivated in more than 30 countries of the world, but Asia is the main region for the supply of tea. The spread of tea around the world began precisely from China, since the tea culture began to emerge here several millennia ago. The tea tree was discovered here, and the Chinese used its leaves not only as a medicine, but also as a drink. Until now, China is famous for its exquisite collectible teas and is the main tea supplier all over the world.
From China, tea seeds or seedlings first came to India. But the cultivation of tea under the influence of the British began here only towards the end of the 18th century. The Indian colony then became practically a tea empire.
At the same time, in the 18th century, the tea tree was brought to Sri Lanka, which was called Ceylon. And by the beginning of the 19th century, the tea plantations on the island were quite large.
Tea seeds were brought to Japan at the beginning of the 9th century. But this plant did not receive widespread plantations here.
