Introduction

• Camellia spp, camelliacea, Camelia assamica, Camelia chinensis
• Oldest known beverage
• native to china
• Evergreen shrub
• Leaves simple,
• alternate and serrated
• Flower bisexual
• Cross pollinated
• Fruit: capsule/ berries
• Agriculture Development Strategy(ADS), specifies the tea as a low volume and high value crop with special emphasis in orthodox tea for export.
• Nepal’s teas are characterized by two types of tea, which are Orthodox tea and CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) tea.

Orthodox tea

• Orthodox tea refers to the process, where the tea is hand-processed or by rolling it in the machines which mimics the hand rolling technique.
• Most of the specialty teas, like green tea, oolong tea, white tea and hand rolled tea come category of orthodox tea.
• In Nepal, orthodox tea is produced and processed in the mountainous regions of Nepal at an altitude ranging from 3,000–7,000 feet above the sea level.
• There are six major districts, primarily in the eastern regions of Nepal that are known for producing quality orthodox tea, which are Ilam, Panchthar ,Dhankuta ,Terhathum ,Sindhulpalchok and Kaski.

CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) tea

• Crush tear curl (CTC) tea is a method of processing tea, where three main steps are involved–crush, tear and curl, hence the name CTC tea.
• Is produced in the lower altitudes of fertile plains of Nepal which are warm and humid like jhapa district.