The Tea Plant

Although there are many different teas, there is only one tea plant, camellia sinensis. The Latin word translates as “Chinese camellia,” and indeed the bush is a relative of the flowering camellia well-known to gardeners. All types of tea, except herb teas, derive from this evergreen plant.
  
Similar to wine, one species accounts for many varieties of tea. As with wine, differences of soil, elevation, and climate are crucial to the character of the tea. A great deal of its quality and flavor depends on which leaves are plucked and how they are processed afterwards.

There are two different types of camellia sinensis, the China type (c. sinensis sinensis) and the more widespread Assam type (c. sinensis assamica). These two types and their hybrids account for about 3,000 varieties.
 
The wild camellia sinensis can grow up to a height of 60 feet. Cultivated tea bushes, however, are pruned back to a maximum of five feet. Viewed from above, tea gardens look like a dense green mat, furrowed by narrow paths. The hilly terrain of the Darjeeling region in northern India requires intricate paths of plantings that curve around mountain slopes.

From each tea bush, only the first few inches of growth are plucked. For the finest of all teas only the very tips of each plant are used -- two leaves and a single bud.