Why do teas taste so different?

All teas come from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis, so why does each single origin tea taste different?

It is true that all teas can come from one plant, but this is a little deceptive because although they may come from the same species - C. Sinensis, not all are from the same variety. In fact, most of the industrialised tea farms grow teas from C. Sinensis var. assamica, whereas many traditional small tea farms use C. Sinensis var. sinensis. 

Why is this important? The type of varietal used for production plays a profound role in the tea's appearance, taste and aroma. 

Typical assamica leaves are larger than their cousin sinensis, and have more bitterness and astringency. Compare Assam from India made with leaves from var. assamica with a black tea from Fujian, China made with var. sinensis and you will instantly notice the difference. 

Over the past hundreds of years, small tea farmers in China, Japan and Taiwan have cultivated tea plants based on their individual characteristics. This long experimentation with nature has resulted in a plethora of cultivars and thousands of beautiful tasting teas, each with their own unique qualities. 

We have curated a small selection of the old and new cultivars for you to sample in our Single Origin collection.