CAMELLIA SINENSIS
HISTORY OF USE
Camellia Sinensis has been systematically bred and selective varieties cultivated since the spread of tea. As with apple trees and grapevines, cultivars with individual appearance and taste characteristics have arisen as a result of selective breeding. Naturally occurring variation is rare. In agronomy, the term cultivar is used to denote a plant variety that has been selectively breed for desirable characteristics which can then be maintained in cultivation.
The tea plant’s region of origin extends from northern Burma (Myanmar) to the southern Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan.
If left to grow undisturbed, the tea plant will reach a height of several meters and an age of over 1000 years. In tea plantations, farmers are careful not to allow the tea plants to grow too high. The plants are pruned to waist height. This simplifies the harvest. A tea picker can work standing upright and doesn’t have to stretch or stoop.
MYTHS & LEGENDS
Tea history is full of myths, legends, and stories, enough to keep the Brothers Grimm, were they alive today, busy for years writing them all down. These tales enrich our tea experience as long as we remember they are not necessarily fact.
Who among us really expects a cabin in the woods inhabited by three bears who walk upright, wear clothing, talk, sleep in beds, have self-awareness, and eat porridge? Well, actually, that part about the porridge eating sounds pretty plausible.
AILMENTS HISTORICALLY USED FOR
-Stress Reduction
-Oral health
-Immune function
-Cancer reduction
-Cardiovascular health