In addition to a zone 8 climate or warmer, tea plants require at least 50 inches of rainfall a year and prefer acidic soils.^[9] Traditional Chinese Tea Cultivation and Studies believes that high-quality tea plants are cultivated at elevations of up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft): at these heights, the plants grow more slowly and acquire a better flavour.^[10]

Only the top 1-2 inches of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called flushes.^[11] A plant will grow a new flush every seven to ten days during the growing season.

A tea plant will grow into a tree if left undisturbed, but cultivated plants are pruned to waist height for ease of plucking.^[12]

Two principal varieties are used: the small-leaved China plant (C. sinensis sinensis), used for most Chinese, Formosan and Japanese teas (but not Pu-erh); and the large-leaved Assam plant (C. sinensis assamica), used in most Indian and other teas (but not Darjeeling). Within these botanical varieties, there are many strains and modern Indian clonal varieties. Leaf size is the chief criterion for the classification of tea plants:^[13] tea is classified into (1) Assam type, characterized by the largest leaves; (2) China type, characterized by the smallest leaves; and (3) Cambod, characterized by leaves of intermediate size.^[13]