Camellia Sinensis is a shrub with evergreen leaves, used both for decorative purposes and for consumption, its medicinal properties being well known throughout the world. The leaves, buds and fruits are used for the preparation of tea, but also as a component in some medicinal preparations.

The history of the tea plant begins in Asia, 22,000 years ago, after the last ice age, but this aspect still causes intense debate among researchers. Camellia Sinensis has been the cause of medical and even political controversies over time - but its use for the preparation of tea and other types of refreshing drinks has remained constant over time.

The tea tree is generally presented in the form of a shrub that reaches a height of 2 m in cultivation. Specimens naturally tend to grow taller, but are usually reduced to this height by pruning. The new leaves are glossy and have a typical 4% caffeine content, being ideal for harvesting. As they age, their chemical composition changes, offering the possibility of preparing several varieties of tea, with different properties. To preserve the caffeine content, the buds and the first 2-3 leaves will be harvested. In optimal growth conditions, this procedure will be repeated every two weeks.

Camellia Sinensis care . The tea tree is successfully cultivated in outdoor plantations in areas with temperatures that do not frequently fall below - 10°C, or in protected areas / cold greenhouses. Although technically it lasts up to -15 °C, long-term exposure to such temperatures can cause significant damage to the plant.

The plants available at this moment in the horticultural trade are generally descendants with a significantly improved resistance to cold - nowadays, there are plantations even in mountainous areas, at very high altitudes, where the weather is not very friendly. Such plantations were established with the aim of obtaining plants with certain characteristics - for example, due to the low temperatures the plants grow more difficult, but the caffeine content is higher and more specialties of black tea can be obtained.

The plant tolerates the lack of water better than its presence in excess. It is recommended to use a substrate that retains a certain degree of humidity, but drains the excess well, so that the water does not pool. A universal peat mixture enhanced with pumice and/or perlite can be used successfully.

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