Cameillia Sinensis

Here's a photo of our latest plant endeavor; Cameillia Sinensis, or the common Tea plant.  It lives best up to Zone 7-8, however, it can be kept indoors, or of course in a greenhouse, and a couple of plants will produce enough fresh tea for 2-3 people.  It typically grows to approximately 4' tall, and about the same in width.  The plants pictured are about 1' at this point, and have recently been transplanted into larger pots than they were shipped in.   

An interesting fact surrounding tea is that all tea, comes from the same plant.  Black tea, Green tea, all come from Camellia sinensis.  It's a matter of how the leaves are either dried, or roasted that produces black or green tea.  Then the tea is graded based upon the time of the year it's harvested, as well as the age of the leaves, in other words; the topmost leaf of the plant, harvested in spring is graded superior, and is considered to be a delicacy in China, and other countries.  I've tried the tea mentioned above, and it's amazing, very fresh, very delicate, and clean tasting.  Called "Dragonwell" Green tea, it is prized for it's subtle and clean taste.  When brewing this tea, make sure to use fresh water, and only allow the leaves (use 4-5 leaves in a single cup) to steep for 3-4 minutes.  Here's a link for Dragonwell tea: http://shangtea.com/store/p/10-West-Lake-Dragon-Well-Long-Jing-Before-Rain.html