Review of Global Tea Production and the Impact on Industry of the Asian Economic Situation
Keywords:
Camellia sinensis, low-grown tea, mid-grown tea, high-grown tea, green tea, ‘oolong’ tea, black tea, white tea, yellow tea, compressed tea, reprocessed tea, herbal tea, pekoe, fermentationAbstract
Tea is a beverage made by steeping leaves in boiling water. The common tea plant is the evergreen shrub Camellia sinensis. There are several varieties of this species of plant, a well known one being the Indian Assam tea (C. sinensis var. assamica Kitamura). Although there is a growing number of countries producing teas, in a multiplicity of blends, there are in fact only three main types of Camellia tea, green, ‘oolong’, and black. The difference lies in the ‘fermentation’. A brewed cup of tea contains a moderate amount of caffeine, volatile oils, tannin and several B-complex vitamins. The flavor of tea is produced by these volatile oils, while astringency and color come from tannin.
Tea is the most popular and cheapest beverage, next to water, in the world. It is consumed by a range of age groups in all levels of society. Some three billion cups of tea are consumed daily worldwide. However, 50-60% of the production cost is in the labor cost. The tea industry makes a vital contribution to the economy of the producing countries. The countries that produce tea are largely developing countries with large pools of low-cost labor. Tea is considered to be a part of the huge beverage market, not in isolation.
