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The science and culture of Camellia Sinensis

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By: D.O. Rothenberg October 4, 2019

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Posted by:D.O. Rothenberg

Graduate student researching Tea Science in China

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Unlike tropical tea gardens in Sri Lanka or Kenya, tea fields in China, Japan and Korea are in the subtropical zone where winter temperatures can reach −6 to −7 °C. In winters here, tea plants enter a dormancy and nitrogen (N) is stored until growth can start up again in Spring. Come Springtime, N remobilizes into budding shoots, creating the Umami sensation of first-flush tea. But, it’s still unclear what exactly happens underground as tea plants stand frozen and motionless for 3 months each year. Prior to last year, the leading theory was that plant roots are too cold (i.e. root transporters inactive) to absorb significant levels of N during winter, and so the umami taste of Spring tea must be a product of N reserves built up by N absorption in autumn, when temperatures are high enough to maintain root activity yet new shoot growth isn’t occurring. Last year, though, elegant research from the lab of Jianyun Ruan, world’s leading authority on tea plant N uptake physiology (and certified tea Don), showed that N was absorbed and translocated in dormant tea plants even without active root and shoot growth throughout late winter until early spring (Ma et al., 2019). Cool study. But, in the conclusion of the paper, authors note that the main implications of the findings were to “top-dress” (i.e. apply chemical N fertilizer) earlier during the winter dormancy (~50 days prior to harvest, as opposed to the 20-30 days commonly practiced now). It’s always a bummer to see the conclusion of good research from talented scientists be; apply chemicals. We don’t need more chemical applications - we need to be understanding and working with biological (i.e. natural) systems. Dr. Ruan left me out in the cold with his conclusion 🥶 Anyway, just keeping things toasty with some warm-hearted debate. #teafields #organictea #organicteas #teagarden #teagardens #icedtea #icedteas #camellia #oolong #puertea #camelliasinensis #polyphenols #antioxidante #polyphenol #theanine #egcg #tannin #hybernation #nitrogen #rootsandculture #teatime☕️ #teatime🍵 #drinkteam #siptea #blacktea #greentealover #茶 #茶道 #冬茶

🍵Theme of the week is brrrrr 🥶🌱🍃❄️ #teagardens #icedteas #organicteas #wintertea #frozenleaves #greentealover #teatime🍵 #teatime☕ #teafields #chineseteaceremony #pesticidefree #cleantea #healthyfood #freshairtherapy #naturephotography #teabloggers #camelliasinensis #camellia #freshpicked #oolong #puer #puertea #cultivate #farmersonly #staywarmandcozy #frostymornings #茶道 #茶木 #茶园

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