The word tea comes from the Chinese local Amoy dialect word t'e, pronounced "tay". The usefulness of the tea plant is due to the special composition of its young leaves, which provides the material for producing tea. The finished product, which serves to make the well-known beverage, the tea drink, is mainly marketed in the form of fermented black tea: in some countries, however, unfermented or partially fermented tea as well. The product tea is made from the young green shoots, which during processing are physically and chemically changed.
The traditional major producing countries in Sou…
