when cold comes to China & India, what happens to tea...?

SN wrote in news:1194059575.679509.9940@
22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com:

when cold comes to China & India, what happens to tea...?



I don't know about China, but I daresay in India the "cold weather" (to
use Kipling's phrase) in tea-country hardly includes many actual frosts.
(Mark Twain once said that during that during the other times of the
year in India, they replaced the European metal doorknobs with ceramic
ones, for comfort...)

Ozzy

On Nov 3, 3:12 am, SN wrote:
when cold comes to China & India, what happens to tea...?

Tea is sensitive to cold at night rather than in the day. Plants
become dormant when night time temperatures go below 11 degrees C (52
deg F) for a couple of nights and remain thus until average night
temperature rises again in spring. During dormancy the bud decreases
in size from about an inch long to about a quarter inch and no further
growth is made. Camellia sinensis var sinensis is tolerant of frost
to -5 deg C (26 deg F) but Camellia sinensis var assamica will die at
around 3 deg C (35 deg F). Many tea countries have snow cover over
the bushes in winter (N. China, Japan, Korea, Georgia, Turkey) - this
helps to protect from frost. Except in very severe conditions and
very young plants the leaves remain green and on the plant even during
severe cold.

Nigel at Teacraft

On Nov 3, 10:09 am, Nigel wrote:
On Nov 3, 3:12 am, SN wrote:

when cold comes to China & India, what happens to tea...?

Tea is sensitive to cold at night rather than in the day. Plants
become dormant when night time temperatures go below 11 degrees C (52
deg F) for a couple of nights and remain thus until average night
temperature rises again in spring. During dormancy the bud decreases
in size from about an inch long to about a quarter inch and no further
growth is made. Camellia sinensis var sinensis is tolerant of frost
to -5 deg C (26 deg F) but Camellia sinensis var assamica will die at
around 3 deg C (35 deg F). Many tea countries have snow cover over
the bushes in winter (N. China, Japan, Korea, Georgia, Turkey) - this
helps to protect from frost. Except in very severe conditions and
very young plants the leaves remain green and on the plant even during
severe cold.

Nigel at Teacraft

Nigel, do you know which species the Yunan big leaf belongs: sinensis
or assamica?

On Nov 3, 11:12 am, SN wrote:
when cold comes to China & India, what happens to tea...?

They have the 4 seasons variety of the tea plant in Taiwan and it is
picked 3 or 4 times a year depending on what kind of yield it would
make. Some people say that winter tea is the best. Some places on
the mainland also produce "winter" teas but they usually say they are
"early spring" and sell them more expensively than they are worth;
same with summer tea...they call it "early autumn".

On Nov 4, 9:58 am, juliantai wrote:

Nigel, do you know which species the Yunan big leaf belongs: sinensis
or assamica?- Hide quoted text -


The Yunnan Big Leaf type bush by the 1950's was considered (by
Kitamura) to be Camellia sinensis var.sinensis f. macrophylla (the
large leaved "fixed variant" of the sinensis variety of C. sinensis).
He considered the Assam type bush to be Camellia sinensis
var.assamica. I think that this is still a plausible distinction.

There's been a deal of bitter fighting between rival taxonomists over
the centuries about tea genetics and origins, and any naming system
that is accepted today as explanation is likely to be overturned
tomorrow. Main problem is that tea is an out breeder, has had several
origins, has been bred cultivated and selected by man for millenia and
the result is highly mixed.

Confusing the issue is that recognised var. assamica material is known
from Yunnan and recognised var. sinensis f. macrophylla is known from
Assam - so the choice is yours!

Nigel at Teacraft

On Nov 6, 10:26 am, Nigel wrote:
On Nov 4, 9:58 am, juliantai wrote:

Nigel, do you know which species the Yunan big leaf belongs: sinensis
or assamica?- Hide quoted text -

The Yunnan Big Leaf type bush by the 1950's was considered (by
Kitamura) to be Camellia sinensis var.sinensis f. macrophylla (the
large leaved "fixed variant" of the sinensis variety of C. sinensis).
He considered the Assam type bush to be Camellia sinensis
var.assamica. I think that this is still a plausible distinction.

There's been a deal of bitter fighting between rival taxonomists over
the centuries about tea genetics and origins, and any naming system
that is accepted today as explanation is likely to be overturned
tomorrow. Main problem is that tea is an out breeder, has had several
origins, has been bred cultivated and selected by man for millenia and
the result is highly mixed.

Confusing the issue is that recognised var. assamica material is known
from Yunnan and recognised var. sinensis f. macrophylla is known from
Assam - so the choice is yours!

Nigel at Teacraft

Thanks for enlightening.

I always wonder which family the big-leaf Taiping Houkui tea lies (it
is Eastern's China Anhui province) so I guess the answer is Camellia
sinensis var.sinensis f. macrophylla.

Gosh how I can ever remember this name ...

Agree that man selection and cultivation has a truly enormous impact
on cultivars.

I notice that a lot of modern Chinese tea plants tend to be
propagation rather than seedlings based. Does that propagation method
facilitates the cultivation/selection process better?

Julian
http://www.amazing-green-tea.com

On Nov 3, 3:12 am, SN wrote:
when cold comes to China & India, what happens to tea...?

SN

I can only speak for the limited tea gardens I work with ....

For Anxi Tieguanyin tea, the mountainous tea gardens harvest their
teas 2 to 4 times a year, with the last harvest taking place beginning
of October.

The outlying low altitude tea gardens harvest their teas 5 times a
year with the last harvest lasting from mid October to mid November.

The pattern I am seeing is that warmer climate allows them to harvest
more and later, possibly resulting in lower quality teas.

As for green tea, most tea gardens harvest from March to May. I have
heard of cultivars that is ready as early as February. I am guessing
that is in Southern China (with warmer climate), not entirely sure.

Two green tea gardens I know have the best life. One harvests only 2
weeks, the other 6 weeks yearly.

Great life they have

Julian
http://www.amazing-green-tea.com

thanks for the responses, interresting stuff
....how about those slow turning gardens!... i wonder how they make
money

On Nov 9, 1:48 pm, SN wrote:
thanks for the responses, interresting stuff
...how about those slow turning gardens!... i wonder how they make
money

Those from famous tea villages selling high grades are very wealthy.
They play mahjong and tour China at other times, which is getting a
more and more expensive affair these days.

Those from around these famous tea villages selling mid grades are
less fortunate and probably have other jobs to keep things going......
probably will ask them next time I speak to them ... but costs there
are so low and you don't really need to spend much money ...

Julian
http://www.amazing-green-tea,com