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I ’m about to spill some real tea leaf . seize your pearls ; here it is : Every tea , whether it is oolong , green , white , or black , comes from one works — camelia sinensis .
What makes them different is how they are harvest and what oxidation process they go through . One plant can add you with black teatime for slow sunrise and white tea to fuddle before layer , oolong to drink for your cholesterin , and green tea to drink for weight going .
find out the specific harvesting and oxidation processes for these different teas , and how to get tea plant in general from this tea - growing template !
What You Will Need
Growing Tea: FAQ
Below are some of the most plebeian questions people have about grow teatime at home .
Can You Grow Black Tea at Home?
Yes , you absolutely can grow black tea leaf at home plate , along with oolong , livid , dark-green , and so on ! They all come from the same plant , the camelia sinensis plant . This hardy plant is easy to get , it just need moist soil , frequent harvests , and warm weather .
How Long Does It Take to Grow Tea at Home?
The hardest affair about develop Camellia sinensis is how long you have to expect before harvesting . It takes 3 year for afternoon tea plants to age enough to farm leaves for harvest . Sometimes , you will be able-bodied to have a modest harvest in the 2d year , but overall you should believably wait . Once your tea works matures though you will have a continual harvest of tea for many , many years .
Yes , you’re able to grow tea hydroponically . It is n’t the easiest or most intuitive way to grow tea though , and there are n’t a lot of resources that explain how to successfully do so .
Some multitude may wonder if ignominious tea has negative effects on other plants because of its abrasive nature . On the contrary , it really benefits them ! you could apply it to sustain your plants by ripping open tea bag and dispersing their contents around the plant , increase their atomic number 7 levels , attracting red worm , and supporting the soil ’s structure .
Can You Grow Tea From Teabags?
The stinting part of you may be question , “ What happen if you plant a teabag ? ” The answer is n’t “ nothing ” but it certainly is n’t that it sprouts a tea bush . tea leaf bag are actually splendid to use in your garden .
you’re able to append tea base to yourcompostto speed up the decomposition . you’re able to brew sure-enough tea pocketbook into a weakly cupful of tea and then sprinkle that on the leaves of plant to repel pests . you may also sheer undecided old tea pocketbook and use their entrails to fertilize plants .
Different Varieties of Tea
Black Tea
The bluff , glum flavor of pitch-dark tea and the zip of energy it give you have it a favourite among westerner . It has the highest caffeine contentedness of all the varieties of tea . Its leaves are , naturally , blackish , but sometimes take on a blood-red tint , which is why mordant tea is known as red afternoon tea in China . Black teatime has themedicinal benefitsof protect your lungs from damage and boil down your risk of receive a stroke .
White Tea
White tea leaf has recently begin to pick up steam in regard to its popularity . It has high antioxidant story and very low caffeine levels . Its spirit is often insidious , mellow , and soft . White afternoon tea has been demo to be one of the most potent teatime incompounds that fight Crab .
Green Tea
The tastes of green tea can be mellow or sharp , sweet or lemony ; its flavor varies , but its health benefit do n’t . It has ahigh compactness of antioxidant , specifically EGCG , which suffer weight loss , prevents cancer ontogeny , keeps your brain healthy , better cholesterol levels , and more .
Oolong Tea
Oolong is also known as blue - green tea . Its taste perception has a depth to it , at the same time taking on sweet and woodsy tones , that reach it exceedingly appealing to afternoon tea fanatic , earning it the claim of the “ connoisseur ’s tea . ” It has been tie to weight loss and lour bad cholesterol .
How to Grow Tea at Home
Step One: Prepare for Your Tea
Plan out how you are die to grow your tea . To start , deal , where does Camellia sinensis grow best ?
The bestgrowing zonesfor tea are Zones 7 - 9 . If you desire to grow a tea bush but do n’t live in these zones you may use a glasshouse , grow lamps , or a container indoors to grow your tea plant . If you decide to grow indoors , keep in creative thinker that Camellia sinensis plants reach between 3 - 7 feet in height . you could keep your plant on the shorter side with frequent pruning .
Pick a spot out for your flora . Tea plants flourish in locations that are partly shaded and part gay . They require at least a few hr of full sun every day .
Pro Tip : Make trusted you bribe Camellia Sinensis seeds , not Camellie Sinensis Assamica semen . The latter can be very erratic to grow .
Step Two: Prepare the Seeds
To recoil off the germination process , hook your seeds in piddle in a bowl for 2 daylight before planting . After the 2 Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , strain the water from the seed and circulate them out on a tray . localise the tray somewhere gay and cross the seeds with an column inch of vermiculite . go away them there . check that that you becloud them frequently with water , keep the semen damp . In 6 to 8 weeks they will develop . permit them acquire to be a few inches magniloquent . Once they sprout 3 leaves you could transplant them .
Step Three: Plant Your Seeds
If you are grow your tea outdoors , wait to transpose the seeds until 2 weeks after the last frost in spring . you’re able to graft them indoors or in a glasshouse at any time . Prepare your dirt . It should be well - enfeeble , sandy soilthat is slightly acidic with a pH between 6 - 6.5 .
Pro Tip : If you have heavy ground you could form compost through it to lighten it up .
Step Four: Care for Your Tea Plant
Camellia sinensis industrial plant eff water ! Keep the soil moist by watering once every few day . Frequent watering helps tea plants spring up faster . Protect your outside plants from Robert Lee Frost when winter rolls around . Cover them or bring them indoors . Fertilize your plants in the spring with a balanced mix , like 10 - 10 - 10 or an organic fertiliser . If you are develop container plants you may also want to fertilize them in the summer . Prune them in the fall once they outmatch 2 feet in height after their blossom set about to disappear .
Step Five: Harvest Your Tea
Unfortunately , it will take 3 years for your tea flora to be ready for harvest time . I know , I know , just remember forbearance is a virtue . And the eventual payoff will be tea - rrific when you’re able to apply your impudently harvested tea leaves to make countless cups of tea . Harvest in the spring after new shoots look on your plants . When the first 2 vivid green leaves come along pinch them with your fingers and softly pluck them from the plant life . Continue to glean early leaves . you’re able to harvest throughout the saltation and summertime .
Pro Tips : Regular harvest time ensure more ontogeny and keep your shrub bushy .
Step Six: To Oxidize or Not to Oxidize?
opprobrious teatime is to the full oxidate . After harvesting massage the leaves , roll them between your hands until their color becomes dark . Then , strain - dry the leaves , spread them out in a nerveless , dry place for a few day . After they dry out , put them in the oven for 20 minutes at 250 F.
Green tea is not oxidized . After harvest the leafage , immediately heat the leaves for a twain of minutes and then function cold water over them . Then , roll the leaves and bake them in the oven at 230 F for 12 minutes turning them every five minute .
White afternoon tea function through a minimum amount of processing . To make white tea , reap the milklike unopened afternoon tea plant bud and immature teatime leafage . Do not rent them oxidate . steamer the leaves for 1 minute and then dry out them in the oven at 250 F for 20 minutes .
Oolong Camellia sinensis is part oxidized . After harvesting the leaves let them to wilt in the sun for 1 hour and then dry them out in a suspicious spot for 12 - 24 time of day . Stir them occasionally to aerate . Then , you could dry them in the oven for 20 minutes at 250 F.
Step Seven: Brew Your Tea
Store your tea leaf parting in airtight containers . Leaves will store for a long time , so you may use them when the weather commence frigid and your plant terminate farm . To brew tea leaf , bring H2O to a boil . Place six leave in a afternoon tea bag and place that bag in a mug . Pour the boiled water over the leaves and permit it to absorb for a few transactions .
Then , love !
Conclusion
Tea is an incredible plant to grow in your backyard ! The most hard part about develop tea is waiting to harvest it . Once those 3 geezerhood to full growing are up though , you will be able-bodied to continually harvest your afternoon tea for as long as your bush continues to thrive . Some chaparral dwell to be 100 years honest-to-goodness ! Tea is a delicious , bracing , and sizable beverage that is all the more enjoyable when it uses refreshful afternoon tea leafage that you grew . I hope you bask this tutorial !
If you liked it , be sure to share , and gloss below with any questions or thoughts !
