China and India are the top tea-growing countries. It takes about 4 to 12 years for a tea plant to bear seed, and about 3 years before a new plant is ready for harvesting. Growing tea plants require well-controlled climate, at least 127 cm. of rainfall a year, and preferably acidic soils. Tea can be harvested at any time of year, but leaves are at their best in the dry monsoon season. Harvesting can begin once the tea plant is about four years old, and the leaves are normally picked by hand which makes the harvest an extremely labor-intensive process. Tea harvesting has three techniques: 1) the standard harvest, where two leaves and one bud are picked 2) the medium harvest where three leaves and a bud are picked 3) the raw harvest where four leaves and one bud on a stem is picked. As you will see in the next page, high quality tea requires an extremely hard work! (The following sources were taken out of www.teaclass.com)
Iain's Tea Project
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