Home The History of Tea

The Chinese have been drinking tea as a beverage for thousands of years. In 1753 the tea plant was named after the botanist Linnaeus, who identified two varieties of tea:

The Chinese variety:  THEA BOTHEA
The Indian variety:  THEA VIRIDIS or THEA ASSAMICA

The South African industry originates from the Thea Assamica variety and has the following characteristics:

	Hard wooded, loosely branched tree that can grow up to 9m in height.
	The leaf surface is green, puffed and glossy and bigger than the Thea Bohea variety.
	Flowering is poor.

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