INDONESIA 

Production:
History
The Indonesian islands have a long historical connection with tea. As far back as the seventeenth century, the island of Java was used as a staging post by the Dutch East India Co for the onward transportation of Chinese tea. By the early eighteenth-century, Dutch settlers were already establishing tea plantations on the island. Production soon followed on Sumatra and, latterly, on the island of Sulawesi.

The devastation of World War II effectively destroyed the Indonesian tea industry and it took many years before the plantations recovered. It was not until 1984, backed by the newly-formed Tea Board of Indonesia that a program for the introduction of improved clonal tea varieties was started.

Locations
The bulk of Indonesian tea comes from the island of Java. Picking is typically done manually, with the main growing area to the west of the island around Bandung.

Tea is picked all year round in Indonesia, but the best quality comes during the dry season of August and September.

Tea estates are either privately owned or government run companies that are called PTPN’s (Perseroan Terbatas Perkebunan Nusantara), each of which has a number of tea estates under its control. 

The majority of Indonesian tea, is sold via auctions held every Wednesday in Jakarta. This is the only tea auction in the world that is not conducted in English.

Tea types
Green tea production was introduced in the late 1980’s, and now accounts for nearly 60% of Indonesian tea production. Much of which goes to meet domestic demand for Jasmine scented tea, a tea produced by scenting green tea with the aroma of Jasmine flowers. Current black tea production is based on tea plants originally imported from Assam, and are mostly exported for blending.

There is no specific variations in flavour between black teas from the different islands, although the best quality does tend to come from the government-owned estates. 

CHINA

Production:
History
The history of Chinese tea is a long and slow story of refinement. Generations of growers and producers have perfected the Chinese way of producing tea, along with its many unique regional variations.

The original idea is credited to the Emperor Shen Nung. That story is legend; all we really know is that tea-growing and tea-drinking probably began in Yunnan as a way of making boiled water palatable.

The methods of tea production practiced elsewhere in the world derive from the 5,000-year Chinese lead. Although the world has moved on, the Chinese have to some extent stuck to their traditions. Chinese equipment is often antiquated; growing is often still done on a small scale by local co-operatives; and the mechanisms for buying and selling are largely state-run, although this situation has been changing rapidly over the past couple of years.

Tea for export used to be sold through a state-controlled export corporation. Nowadays, many private-enterprise organisations are involved in the export of tea. They are becoming more responsive to market forces and are helping to produce teas that are adapted to the needs of the wider world market.

Locations
Tea is grown widely throughout south-eastern China – roughly the area south of a line from Shanghai to southern Tibet. Since ancient times, the best teas have come from mountainous regions. A total of 18 provinces are involved in tea-growing. Most grow their tea in village cooperatives.

The growing season runs from the end of March to October and November depending upon the region. The season begins – and lasts longer – in Yunnan, where the climate is more temperate. During the season, four crops are harvested: a spring crop followed by a break; two summer crops in June and July/August; and finally an autumn crop in September.

Other key provinces for tea production are Sichuan, Hunan, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, and the island of Hainan.

There are no tea auctions in China. Tea is purchased through direct negotiations between international tea-buyers and individual Chinese export companies. These companies purchase directly from co-operatives, then pre-blend into standard tea types ready for sale to the international market. Trade is facilitated by the twice-yearly (April and October) Export Commodities Fair held in the city of Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong.

Tea types
China produces the world's largest variety of fine quality teas, many of which are still processed by hand. There are literally thousands of types, of which only a small proportion are available outside China.

The three main types of tea are green, oolong, and black. The chief difference between the three types is in the extent of the oxidation process. Green tea is processed for the shortest length of time; black, for the longest. China also produces several other types of tea: scented teas incorporate other plants to enhance the flavour and aroma; compressed teas are pressed into solid blocks; white teas have a silvery appearance; and pu-erh tea is sold for its medicinal qualities.

All Chinese tea is processed at state-controlled tea plants. The historical development of the Chinese tea trade has resulted in the two stages of processing being done at separate locations. During the first stage, the raw leaves are turned into green or black tea. At the second stage, the processed leaves are graded by hand.

Zhejiang, south of Shanghai, is renowned for its green teas. It's where Gunpowder Green Tea comes from. Further south, near the coast of Fujian, is the source of many specialty teas such as Lapsang Souchong and Jasmine, a fragrant blend of green tea with freshly-picked jasmine flowers. The semi-fermented China Oolong also comes from Fujian.

The provinces of Anhui and Yunnan produce excellent black teas – Keemun (from Anhui) and Yunnan. Yunnan is also the source of the rarer brick and compressed teas that come in a variety of solid shapes.

Culture:
Tea and Tradition
In China, almost every aspect of the growing and production of traditional teas is controlled. Qualities are standardised and, in some cases, tea is grown and processed according to instructions in official manuals. The precision of these manuals extends to the detail of the operatives' hand movements.

The Chinese drink green teas and some oolongs – in both cases without milk. Black teas are produced solely for export. With 5,000 years of history behind them, the regions have developed different methods of brewing. Some use Western-style teapots; others use tiny teapots; yet others brew their tea straight in the cup.

During the early era of communism, and especially during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), tea-drinking was regarded as bourgeois. The tea houses were shut and few people could afford tea. They drank plain hot water instead – but still called it tea.


Formal tea
The era of tea repression is now over and the tea houses (the Chinese name translates literally as 'tea-art house') have reopened. Visitors sit on cushions at low tables to drink fine quality teas. Their tea is brewed in a tiny, satsuma-sized teapot, then poured into even tinier cups. The teapot may be infused three or four times.

In the tea house, the drinking of tea is about appreciating tea for its flavour, aroma, and appearance, rather than the quenching of thirsts. It's a social occasion, without formal dress, at which small snacks (such as preserved fruits or melon seeds) accompany the tea. The ceremony is not just confined to tea houses; on special occasions, the Chinese perform it at home.

Everyday tea
At work, the Chinese brew and drink their green tea in the same mug. Many tea-brewing mugs come with built-in strainers. The same set of tea leaves will be infused three or four times, with the second infusion generally regarded as the best. 

ARGENTINA

Production:
History
Cultivation and processing of tea developed in the 1950s as an extension of the maté industry.

Locations
Tea is grown in the extreme north-eastern tip of the country in Misiones. Almost all of Argentina's tea-production comes from this area.

Harvesting is completely mechanised. The harvesters straddle the tea bushes and mow the tips as they advance down the rows.

Tea types
Teas from Argentina tend to be plainer. Their neutral flavours lend themselves to blending.

The majority of the harvest finds its way into the iced teas of North America. Argentinean tea has the unusual property of retaining its clarity when poured over ice. Less forgiving teas cloud when subjected to the shock of ice. 

 AUSTRALIA

 Culture:

 GREAT BRITAN

 Culture:

 MALAWI

 Production:

Culture:
With sugar and bread
Tea-drinking is popular in Malawi. The Malawians drink it black and sweetened with sugar to improve the taste of the bread they habitually dunk in it. There's also a large Asian population who take tea the Indian way: water, tea bags, milk, and sugar all brewed together in the pot.

BRAZIL

 MALAYSIA

Culture:
Thick and sweet
Malaysian tea is brewed longer than most teas to give a stronger taste. It's often drunk with thick, condensed milk - but always with plenty of sugar. If your host likes you, he or she will give you extra sugar to prove it!

Iced tea is also popular. A glass of hot, strong tea containing generous amounts of condensed milk is topped with crushed ice. This is served with a straw, along with a long spoon for stirring the mixture.

A popular breakfast time favourite is tea terbang or 'flying tea', which is normally served at a kedai kopi (coffee shop). The starting point is a jug of hot, strong tea with condensed milk. This is poured back and forth, from jug to jug, as high as the pourer's arm can reach, until the tea has a developed a wonderful, frothy head. 

 SOUTH AFRICA

Production:
History
Tea was first grown in Durban Botanical Gardens in 1850, using plants imported from London's Kew Gardens. Commercial production began 27 years later using seeds from Assam. Production in Natal grew, then faltered by the middle of the twentieth century, and was revived during the 1960s. When apartheid ended, South African tea became available to the world market. Twinings was one of the first companies to buy tea from the new multiracial South Africa, and to spot the potential of its teas.

Locations
South Africa's tea-growing region maps out a crescent-shaped curve down the eastern side of the country. It roughly follows the line of the Drakensberg mountains from Venda in the north, through Natal, and down to Transkei.

Harvesting takes place between October and April, before the winter chill sets in.

All South African tea is sold privately.

Tea types
South Africa has not been exporting for long. During the days of apartheid, all tea was produced for home consumption. Although the South Africans love their own tea, drinking approximately ten billion cups a year, it has often proved less suitable for export markets. International buyers mainly go to South Africa for its bright tea, which is suitable for tea bags varieties. But there is plenty of scope within this 'rising star' of tea-growing nations to introduce further varieties with an international appeal.

TAIWAN

Production:
History
Immigrants from the Chinese province of Fujian first introduced tea-production to Taiwan. The growing methods they had learnt on the Chinese mainland stood them in good stead. They found the climate and terrain of Taiwan perfect for the growing of tea bushes.

For a time, black teas were also produced on Taiwan, but the bulk of current tea-production is oolong. Black and green teas are still produced but the bulk is an amazing variety of oolong teas.

Locations
Most tea is grown in the north of the island, around Taipei. The estates in this area are all below 350 metres.

Taiwanese tea bushes produce five flushes in a year. Tea pickers work from April through to December, with the best quality teas being produced in the period from May to August.

Tea is also grown, but to a lesser extent to the west of the central highlands To. Within this region, on the slopes of Mt Yu Shan, is where the best of the Taiwanese tea grows. This is manufactured into the famous Tung Ting oolong tea.

Tea types
Taiwan's speciality teas fetch a high price on the international market. The oolongs are the most sought after by Japanese, American, and Moroccan buyers. The lightly-fermented Taiwanese pouchongs are used to make Jasmine-scented teas.

TIBET

Production:
With butter and salt
The traditional way of preparing tea in the mountains of Tibet is to churn it. Green brick tea is ground, boiled in water and strained. This strained infusion is then churned with yak's milk, butter, and salt.

Tea-churning is a daily ritual. When prepared, the tea is transferred to a kettle to be kept warm over the fire.

USA

Culture:
Iced tea
For generations of Americans, tea has had a faintly unpatriotic association. Its connections with the War of Independence were severed with the invention of iced tea at the 1904 St Louis World Fair.

Richard Blechynden, an expatriate Englishman, ran a hot tea stall at the Fair. The weather was hot, so any potential customers were really only interested in cold drinks. In light of this, Richard spotted an opportunity to serve his tea with a few ice cubes, which turned out to be an instant success.

Nowadays, more than 80% of the tea consumed in the US is iced tea. It's usually served in a tall glass with ice cubes, a slice of lemon on the rim, and a long spoon for stirring in sugar or honey.

Teas produced in Argentina are perfect for creating iced tea as they remain clear when they come into contact with ice.

Sun tea
Sun tea is a late twentieth-century development of iced tea. The idea originated in the southern states where there is always plenty of sunshine. This is made using cold water and teabags, which are placed in a glass-capped pitcher. This is left to infuse in direct sunlight for a couple of hours. This is then served like iced tea.

Inventors have even developed a solar-powered motorised stirrer for the ultimate in laid-back iced tea making.