Tea Leaves and Shoots, Hawaii
A slightly closer view of tea leaves and shoots, growing at an agricultural experiment station in Hawaii. This photo gives a clear view of the leaf buds and new leaves; you can see how the larger, more mature leaves are thicker and tougher. The typical traditional plucking, for the standard orange pekoe grade of tea, uses the top two leaves and the bud, all of which are more tender than the leaves farther down on the stem.
This image is featured in our article on Pure Tea (Camellia sinensis).
