Conversation

Tea (camellia sinensis) shares thousands of years of history with humans, and is deeply rooted in East Asian culture. Most tea grows as small shrubs, but it can live for a long time – and it can grow up to be a very large tree!

The tree in this photo was the oldest known tea tree in the world, estimated to be 3200 years old. Before the tree died in 2012, its leaves were used to make pu-erh, a kind of fermented black tea which can be aged for many years before being drunk.