What is tea?

When asking "what is tea?" you must start with the basics. First and foremost, tea is a plant called Camellia sinensis. Camellia sinensis is a small, subtropical, evergreen tree that is native to Asia. There are two main varieties of tea plants - Camellia sinensis sinensis, which is native to China, and Camellia sinensis assamica, which is native to India.

When we talk about "what is tea?" we are also talking about tea leaves...like what Tea Sip sells. To get tea, the leaf version, we must pluck the leaves from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, and process those leaves to get the dried leaf form of tea that is sold to tea lovers. "True" tea all comes from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. So that means white, green, yellow, oolong, black, dark teas all originate from the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Crazy right!? One of the main ways we create the different tea types is through the processing steps and methods, and not every tea goes through every step. The 6 basic processing stages are plucking, withering, rolling and shaping, oxidation, firing, and sorting. Tea production is a complex and interesting process... but that's a topic for another blog! Creating the different types of tea leaves that come from the Camellia sinensis plant also has to do with the variety (Camellia sinensis sinensis or Camellia sinensis assamica), or cultivar, and where in the world the plant is grown. In addition, the dried processed tea leaf and can either be just straight Camellia sinensis leaves, or "naked" as we call it at Tea Sip, or those leaves can be flavored, scented or blended with other botanicals. This is also called tea.

And finally, when we ask "what is tea?" we are talking about tea the drink. That delightful beverage that we LOVE! To get tea the drink, you guessed it, we steep the tea leaves in water. Whether it's hot or cold or iced - this is all tea!