Decaffeination this trait could be bred into other coffee plants by crossing them with "C. charrieriana", or an equivalent effect could be achieved by knocking out the gene for caffeine synthase in normal coffee plants. Tea may also be decaffeinated, usually by using processes analogous to the direct method or the CO process, as described above. The process of oxidizing tea leaves to create black tea ("red" in Chinese tea culture) or oolong tea leaves from green leaves does not affect the amount of caffeine in the tea, though tea-plant subspecies (i.e., "Camellia sinensis sinensis" vs. "Camellia sinensis assamica") may differ
Tea production in the United States not to open gardens on the Island, but rather to open gardens in Latin America. In 2000 horticulturist Francis Zee found a strain of "Camellia sinensis", the tea plant, that can flourish in the tropical climate and volcanic soil of Hawaii. A joint study of commercially growing tea in Hawaii was started by University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources and University of Hawaii at Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With the decline of Hawaii's sugar industry, tea cultivation is seen as a possible replacement