Week of March 20, 2022

CAMELLIA SINENSIS is the fourth variety of camellia in our Florida Garden, but has rather modest white flowers with yellow stamens around the time that Camellia Sasanqua blooms in early spring. We have four bushes, two large and mature ones planted six years ago, and two young bushes of a new variety bought from the IFAS students just last year. C.Sinensis is the sole source of tea, with the varieties of tea differing from where they were cultivated (India, China, Japan, etc.), the way the leaves were processed (green, Oolong, black) or other flavorings added (e.g. Jasmine). I have visited the Dragon Well tea fields near Hangzho, China, to observe the picking of highest quality leaves in the spring. The flavors and green phenols are produced in the spring buds, so the buds picked when small are more potent and flavorful that later when the leaves have grown large. This spring, the larger bushes appeared ready to produce a crop of tea for the first time. I pruned them back very rigorously in early kFebruary. After waiting a month, I now pinch off the terminal bud and two small leaves every Saturday. I then steam the leaves on the stovetop for 2 minutes, then dry the leaves in a warm stove for 20 minutes. The result is crisp green tea leaves to be stored in an airtight container. Oolong and black tea involve crushing the green leaves and exposing them to the air, before drying. We have a good start for a tea party soon, with one teaspoon of TAProots green tea per cup of hot water!