What’s the Classification of Tea Gardens?

• Modern Terrace Tea Garden
• High Mountain Tea Garden
• Traditional Farming Tea Garden
• Wild Tea Garden
• Old Tree Tea Garden

1. Modern Terrace Tea Garden

Modern Terrace tea gardens are tea gardens which are under modern management and aim at high yield. Tea trees of modern terrace tea gardens are densely planted in lines on slopes or mountains. From a distance, the tea tree groups look like steps. Most modern terrace tea gardens use asexual cutting propagation methods. This unique dense and high-yield tea planting method was created by English merchants and was originally used in India and Sri Lanka. Later it was introduced to China. Among modern terrace tea gardens, there are low altitude tea gardens and high mountain tea gardens.

High Mountain Tea Garden

Since ancient times, high mountains in mist are good places to produce high-quality tea. First, the vegetations on high mountains are lush and overgrown. The soils contain high level of organic matters and have adequate nutrition. Second, the air humidity in this kind of environment is high. It is beneficial to keep the softness of leaf buds. Third, the solar radiation on high mountains, which has abundant diffused and short-wave light, is different from solar radiation on plains. This sunlight condition is beneficial to the metabolism of nitrogen in tea trees, which promotes the accumulation of amino acids in tea leaves. Forth, there is a large temperature difference between day and night in high mountains. The high temperature in daytime promotes the photosynthesis, which helps to accumulate organic matters. The low temperature at night inhibits respiration and decreases energy consumption. It is useful to the accumulation of tea substances.
There are two features of high mountain tea: 1. The most unique feature is the abundant amino acids in high mountain tea. Thus, high mountain tea has a high fragrance and a sweet and fresh flavor. 2. High mountain tea contains high level of tea substances and can be brewed for several times.

2. Traditional Farming Tea Garden

Besides modern and densely planted terrace tea gardens, there is also a kind of traditional farming tea gardens. Compared with modern terrace tea gardens, the main feature of traditional farming gardens is the low planting density (one tea tree in an area of 6-8 m²). In this condition, tea trees grow in a relatively natural environment. The shapes of the tea trees are larger and the tea yield is lower. Tea trees in traditional farming tea gardens are sexual tea trees. These tea trees do not grow from tea tree branches. They grow from seeds. Among traditional farming tea gardens, there are wild tea gardens and old tree tea gardens. Due to little human intervention, wild tea and old tree tea are only picked once every year in spring.

Wild Tea Garden

There are wild tea trees grow on high mountains. For the convenience of tea pick, tea growers transplant the wild tea trees to their own tea gardens. This kind of tea garden is called wild tea garden.

Old Tree Tea Garden

Old tree tea gardens consist of tea trees more than 100 years old. These old tea trees have obvious main roots.