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Camellia sinensis

Source: James A. Duke. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished. Dried and cured leaves widely used for a beverage, which has a stimulant effect due to caffeine. Used for this purpose in China for nearly 3,000 years. Chasei is a tea extract; powdered tea (Teu-cha) a ceremonial tea. Green tea is made from leaves steamed and dried, while black tea leaves are withered, rolled, fermented and dried. Steam distillation of black tea yields an essential oil. Tea extract is used as a flavor in alcoholic beverages, frozen dairy desserts, candy, baked goods, gelatins, and puddings (Leung, 1980). Air-dry tea seed yields a clear golden-yellow oil resembling sasanqua oil, but the seed cake, containing saponin, is not suitable for fodder. Refined teaseed oil, made by removing the free fatty acids with caustic soda, then bleaching the oil with Fuller's earth and a sprinkling of bone black, makes an oil suitable for use in manufacture of sanctuary or signal oil for burning purposes, and in all respects is considered a favorable substitute for rapeseed, olive, or lard oils. The oil is different from cottonseed, corn, or sesame oils in that it is a non-drying oil and is not subject to oxidation changes, thus making it very suitable for use in the textile industry; it remains liquid below -18deg.C. Tea is a potential source of food colors (black, green, orange, yellow, etc.).

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