Tea boosts immunity, reduces inflammation, and lowers the risk of heart disease and cancer. Herbal teas, due to their calming properties, also aid relaxation and sleep.
Tea can grow in alluvial, mountain, and laterite soils. Alluvial and mountain soils are fertile with most minerals, while laterite soil lacks some minerals.
Tea plants are grown as bushes about one meter tall, making it easy to pick the leaves. Tea bushes are planted about 1.5 meters apart in rows, with one meter between rows.
Tea used to be grown from seeds, but now it's mainly grown from cuttings from chosen plants. These cuttings are replanted in nursery beds for 12 to 18 months.
For tea seeds, the ideal time to sow is November-December or no later than January of the following year. Winter sowing is best, done 10-20 days earlier than spring sowing.
Tea is harvested by hand, selecting only the top young and juicy leaves along with part of the stem and the bud, which is an unexpanded leaf at the shoot's end.