The tea plant’s journey is reflected in its name, Camellia Sinensis. Camellia indicates that tea is a woody plant, closely related to the ornamental bushes and their flowers, and Sinensis signifies its Chinese origins of small leaf.

Although the tea plant is most often referred to as being an evergreen shrub, when left in the wild undisturbed it grows into a tree with a bowl-shaped canopy. The bark is rough and typically grey. The tea plant branches with alternate elliptical leaves that are leathery in texture.

How to grow a tea tree

Step 1 : Purchase the tea tree seeds

There are two main types of tea plants. Camellia Sinensis is recommended because it is hardy. You can purchase the seeds from the local nursery or order them online. Camellia Assamica is another type of tea plant. It’s not recommended to grow this type of tea plant unless you live in a tropical climate. Also, this is a “large tree” plant, so it requires more space once it begins to grow. Always make sure there is sufficient room for the plants to breathe and for them to become bushy.

Steps 2 : Soak the seeds in water

Put your seeds into a bowl of water. Make sure that the seeds are completely submerged in water. Let the seeds soak for at least 24 hours or more. Soaking the seeds helps the seeds to absorb more water, which in turn speeds up the process of germination.

Steps 3 : Put the seeds into small containers with vermiculites

Take the seeds out of the water, and place 2 to 3 seeds each into separate small containers. Place the small containers in a warm and sunny location. Spray the seeds to dampen them. Then, cover the seeds with 2.5 cm of coarse vermiculite —a brown mineral soil that helps the seeds retain moisture. Let the seeds germinate for 6 to 8 weeks.

Step 4 : Keep the vermiculite moist at all times

During the 6 to 8 weeks, check the vermiculite on a daily basis to see whether it is moist or dry. If the vermiculite is too dry, water the seeds using a spray bottle. The soil should stay moist at all times.

Step 5 : Ensure the seeds have fully germinated

After 6 to 8 weeks, check to see if the seeds have fully germinated. Germinated seeds will have small roots and a couple of sprouts. Seeds will often germinate at different speed, so wait until all of the seeds have germinated before planting them into flower pots.

Step 6 : Separate and plant the tea tree into flower pot

The seeds should begin to sprout a few seedlings after 6 to 8 weeks of germination. You should have about 3 or 4 leaves. Put each seedling into a separate pot Tea trees likes well-drained and sandy soil that is on the acidic side.

Move the pots to a warm and partially shaded place. Spray the soil regularly to keep it moist.

Step 7 : Repot the plant or plant them outdoor 

You will need to move the tea plants once they reach about 20 cm in height. If you put them in new pots, make sure the pots will be big enough for plenty of root growth. If you plant them outdoor, plant them at least 0.9 m apart so they have space to grow. Plant the tea plant in a partly sunny and partly shady location. This means that the tea plant should get about 6 hours of sunlight daily.

Step 8 : Water the plant every day

Tea plants are hardy and rarely need to be fertilized. However, they need to be watered on a regular basis. The soil should be damp to the touch but not soaked in water to maintain the right acidity.

Step 9 : Wait a few years for the plant to mature

It will take about three years before the tea plants reach maturity. This means that you won’t be able to harvest leaves during this time. Once the plant reaches about 1 meter, it should be ready for harvest.

茶是一种芳香的饮品，通常是将热水倒在原产于东亚的茶树品种（Camellia sinensis）一种常绿灌木的新鲜叶子制制作而成的。 它的起源可能于缅甸北部和中国西南部的边境地区。

茶树的拉丁文名称（Camellia Sinensis）属于山茶科。山茶科属于灌木或小乔木，Camellia指的是山茶花而 Sinensis则表示其起源于中国的小叶种。

尽管茶树通常被称为常绿灌木，但在野外的茶树不受到外界的干扰时，它就会长成带有碗形树冠的树木。 树皮是粗糙的，通常是灰色。 茶树的枝头互生着椭圆形的叶子，质感如皮革。

如何种茶树

步骤1：购买茶树种子

茶树主要有两种。 推荐Camellia Sinensis 种，因为它耐寒。 您可以从当地的苗圃购买种子，也可以在线订购。 Camellia Assamica 是另一种茶树。 除非您生活在热带气候下，否则不建议您种植这种茶树。 因为它一棵“大树”种植物，因此一旦开始生长，就需要更多空间。 须要有足够的空间让茶树呼吸并变得茂密。

步骤2：将种子浸于水中

将种子放入一碗水中。 要确保种子完全浸没在水中。 让种子浸泡至少24小时或更长时间。 浸泡种子有助于种子吸收足够的水分，从而加快发芽的过程。

步骤3：将种子放入装有培养土的小容器中

将种子从水中取出，然后将2到3粒种子分别放入单独的小容器中。 将小容器放在温暖，阳光充足的地方。 浇一点点水使种子保持其湿润。 然后，用2.5厘米的培养土（一种棕色的矿物土壤，帮助种子保持水分）覆盖种子。 让种子发芽6至8周。

步骤4：确保营养土保持湿润

在6至8周内，每天检查培养土，看培养土湿润还是干燥。 如果培养土太干燥，请使用喷雾瓶给种子和培养土浇水。 培养土应保持湿润。

步骤5：确保种子已完全发芽

6至8周后，检查种子是否已完全发芽。 发芽的种子将有小根和几根芽。 种子通常会以不同的速度发芽，因此请等到所有种子都发芽后再将它们种植到花盆中。

步骤6：将茶树载种到花盆中

种子在发芽6至8周后开始长出一些幼苗。 茶树的幼苗有大约3或4片叶子。将每棵幼苗放到一个单独的花盆中。茶树喜欢排水良好的酸性沙质土壤。

将花盆移至温暖且有遮阳的地方。 定期确保土壤保持湿润。

步骤7：将茶树植入较大的花盆或将其种植在室外

一旦茶树高长到大约20厘米，就需要将茶树移动入新的花盆中。请确保花盆足够宽大，以方便茶树生根和成长。 如果将茶树种植在室外，则应至少有0.9 m间隔，以便它们有成长空间。 应该在阳光充裕并且阴凉处种植茶树。 茶树每天应获得约6个小时的阳光照射。

步骤8：每天给茶树浇水

茶树耐寒，几乎不需要施肥。 但是，茶树需要定期浇水。 土壤应该摸起来湿润，但不能浸在水中，以保持适当的土壤酸度。

步骤9：等待几年，让茶树成熟

茶树要成熟大约需要三年时间。 这意味着您将无法在这段时间内采摘茶叶。 一旦茶树长到约1米，就可以准备采摘了。

A tea tree cannot be transplanted from another adult tea tree; it only can be grow from a tea seed. Therefore, the Chinese people took tea to symbolize love, loyalty and the expectation of a happy married life.

It is difficult to trace backwhen tea actually became an important item in the Chinese dowries. The earliest written record of tea ceremonies is from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). When the Tang princess Wencheng married the Tibetan emperor, Songtsän Gampo, in 641 AD, tea leaves was part of her dowry items.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the Chinese tea-ceremony has been an indispensable part of the marriage process. Tea has been one of the essential item in the numerous betrothal gifts that the bride groom give to the bride family, be it weather you are rich or poor. Tea was also served to the guests on the wedding day as a beverage.

Since tea symbolizes people’s wishes for the love, loyal and a happy marriage, it continued to play a part in the institution of marriage during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368 AD), Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD), and Qing (1644–1912 AD) Dynasty.

Till today the tradition of the tea ceremonies at Chinese weddings still remained, and is still highly valued.

The tea ceremony is one of the most significant events at the Chinese wedding. It’s called jing cha in Chinese, literally meaning, ‘to respectfully offer the tea’. It incorporates a very formal introduction of the bride and groom, and expresses respect to their families.

在华人的中式婚礼中，茶起着重要的作用。

要载种新的茶树不能从另一棵成年茶树接枝。 它只能从茶种子中慢慢的生长出来。 因此，中国人把茶的生长象征着爱情，忠诚和对幸福婚姻生活的期望。

如果要追溯茶何时真正成为中国嫁妆中的重要物品，最早的记录来自唐朝（公元618-907年）。 唐朝文成公主在公元641年与西藏皇帝宋赞·甘波（SongtsänGampo）结婚时，茶叶是她嫁妆的一部分。

在宋代（公元960-1279年），敬茶仪式一直是婚姻过程中不可或缺的一部分。 茶已成为新郎送给女方家庭的订婚礼品中不可缺少的物品之一，无论你是富贵还是贫穷。 婚礼当天主人还为客人提供茶作为饮料。

由于茶象征着人们对爱情，忠诚和幸福婚姻的渴望，它在元朝（公元1271–1368年），明朝（公元1368-1644年）和清朝（1644-1912年）的婚姻中扮演着重要的角色之一。

直到今天，在中式婚礼上的敬仪式统仍然被保留着，并且受到高度重视。

敬茶是中式婚礼上最重要的活动之一。 它的意义包含着新娘和新郎正式以夫妻的身份介绍给所有的亲朋戚友，并表达他们两人对家庭的长辈的尊重。

Ancient China
In the early years of tea cultivation in China, the leaves were unprocessed and had a bitter taste, earning the resulting drink the name ‘荼 tu’, meaning ‘bitter vegetable’. Mandarin’s current word for tea, ‘茶 cha’, didn’t come into recorded existence until 760 C.E., when a scholar named Lu Yu wrote the Cha Jing, or the Classic of Tea, in which he mistakenly omitted a cross stroke from the character ‘tu’, resulting in a much different word: cha.

Cha
For nearly a thousand years, tea stayed the secret of the East. When the Portuguese arrived in China in the 1500s. They taste tea for the first time and were quick to realise its potential and decided to focus on exporting tea instead of spices. The Portuguese called the drink cha, just like the people of southern China – Guangzhou – Hong Kong and Macau did.

Tea
Around 1607 the Dutch encountered tea in the Fujian province, where Hokkien was the major language, its pronunciation varied depending on the dialect. Following in the linguistic footsteps of the Hokkien folk of Fujian, the Dutch called the drink ‘thee’.

从中国到日本，印度到英国，对这些国家的人民来说茶是一种必需品，也可以说是一个国家的身份象征。 尽管每个国家 / 地区都有自己的“茶”这个词，但几乎所有的发音都仅来自两个词根：“ te”和“ cha”。以下是茶这个词背后的故事。古代中国在中国古代茶叶种植的早期，茶叶未经加工且味苦，因此就把它名为“荼”，意为“苦菜”。直到公元760年，“茶”这个新字才出现。当时，茶圣陆羽写了《茶经》，他错误地从 ‘荼’ 字中省略了一笔画。 因此产生了一个非常不同的词 ：茶。

Cha
近千年来，茶一直是东方的神密物品。 1500年代葡萄牙人到达中国时。 他们第一次品尝到茶，很快就意识到了它的潜力，并决定专注于出口茶而不是香料。 葡萄牙人称其为“cha”，就像中国南方如-广州-香港和澳门一样叫法。

Tea
1607年左右，荷兰人在福建省第一次接触到茶，其发音因地方的方言而异。 荷兰人便跟随福建省的福建人的语言脚步，将这种饮料称为“ thee”。