10 The Tale of Tea

THE TALE OF TEA by Shalini Vallepur

HOP IN THE TEAPOT Hello! I'm Rani, and this is my food truck. It is called the Teapot because I serve the best tea around. Which tea do you want to try? MENU Black tea Green tea White tea Oolong tea Oh, no! I've run out of tea. I need to get more. Hop in the Teapot, and I'll tell you the tale of tea. THE TEAPOT

THE TALE OF TEA Tea plantation, Kenya Tea is grown around the world. It is grown on farms called plantations. THE TEAPOT China, India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya grow the most tea in the world Tea plantation, Vietnam Tea comes from leaves that grow on small bushes. The leaves are green and shiny.

PERFECT WEATHER Tea grows best in places that are warm and get a lot of rain. This tea map shows some of the places where tea is grown. NORTH AMERICA Argentina SOUTH AMERICA EUROPE AFRICA South Africa India Japan ASIA China Sri Lanka AUSTRALIA Tea plantation in Assam, India The soil that tea grows in is very important. The soil affects how the tea grows and how it will taste. Teas can be named after the places where they are grown, such as Assam and Darjeeling.

A TEA PLANTATION THE TEAPOT We made it to the tea plantation! The leaves are ready to be harvested when the bushes reach about 3 feet (1 m) tall. Some tea plantations have houses and schools for the workers and their families. A lot of tea is grown on smaller farms.

THE HARVEST Workers pick off the buds and two or three leaves from the top of each stem. Only a few leaves are taken from each bush so the bush keeps growing. Workers come back after a week to harvest again. The harvested leaves are placed in baskets and then taken to the factory. Big machines are sometimes used to harvest leaves, but the best tea comes from handpicked leaves. THE TEAPOT