Cha (tea) - Cha

Japanese: チャ(茶) - チャ

An evergreen tree of the Theaceae family whose leaves are used for beverages. It is said to be native to Tibet and its surrounding areas. Wild species in India reach a height of 8-15m, but in Japan and China it grows as a shrub about 1m tall. The wood is hard and the bark is smooth. The leaves are dark green, oblong, and thick. The flowers are white and bloom from early autumn to winter. In general, it prefers warm, rainy climates, and there are two main varieties: Assam and Chinese. The leaves are picked about three times from around May, and for green tea, they are steamed and then dried while being rubbed in a roasting oven. For black tea, the fresh leaves are slightly dried, then fermented and dried. They are propagated by seeds, cuttings, layers, or root cuttings. Tea was already consumed in China during the Han dynasty, and was introduced to Japan during the Nara period, and spread to various places after the Kamakura period. It was introduced to Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, and black tea was invented in the 18th century. In addition to green tea and black tea, there are also oolong tea and brick tea. The main components are caffeine, tannins, vitamin C, etc. The major producing countries in the world are India, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, and Japan. In Japan, famous producing areas include Shizuoka, Uji in Kyoto, and Sayama in Saitama. The UK has the highest per capita consumption.
→Related items Recreational crops｜Chinese tea

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

葉を飲料とするツバキ科の常緑樹。チベットとその周辺原産とされる。インドの野生種は高さ８〜15mに達するが日本や中国では1m前後の低木となる。木質は堅く樹皮はなめらか。葉は濃緑色，長楕円形で厚い。花は白色で初秋〜冬に開花。一般に温暖多雨の気候を好み，品種はアッサム種と中国種に２大別される。葉は５月ごろから３回ほど摘採し，緑茶では蒸したのち焙炉(ほいろ)中でもみながら乾燥する。紅茶は生葉をやや乾燥させたのち発酵・乾燥させる。繁殖は種子あるいは挿木(さしき)，取木，根挿による。茶は漢代の中国ですでに飲用され，日本には奈良時代に伝来し，鎌倉時代以後，各地に広まった。ヨーロッパへは16―17世紀に伝わり18世紀には紅茶が発明された。緑茶，紅茶のほか，ウーロン茶，磚茶(たんちゃ)などがある。主要成分はカフェイン，タンニン，ビタミンCなど。世界の主要生産国はインド，スリランカ，中国，インドネシア，日本など。日本では静岡のほか京都の宇治，埼玉の狭山などが名産地。一人当り消費量は英国が最高。
→関連項目嗜好作物｜中国茶

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