UBC Department of Asian Studies in Buddhist tradition. The design (courtesy of Asian Studies MA student in Japanese Literature and Visual Culture and graphic designer Julien Butterlin) does indeed gesture in this direction, but the flower depicted is in fact that of Camellia sinensis or Thea sinensis, the tea plant whence many teas are derived. A genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae, Camellia sinensis is used to harvest white tea, green tea, oolong, pu-erh tea and black tea. Tea is the second-most widely consumed beverage in the world after water, and has played and continues to play such a central role in all
Tea tasting Tea tasting Tea tasting is the process in which a trained taster determines the quality of a particular tea. Due to climatic conditions, topography, manufacturing process, and different clones of the "Camellia sinensis" plant (tea), the final product may have vastly differing flavours and appearance. These differences can be tasted by a trained taster in order to ascertain the quality prior to sale or possibly blending tea. The ISO 3103 standard describes a standardised method for brewing teas in order to make meaningful sensory comparisons between them. It is not a particularly useful standard for many teas, however, requiring a