The tea tree is a perennial evergreen woody plant that originates in the provinces of China along the Yangtze River. It has been introduced to other countries such as Japan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Russia. The tea trees like warm, humid and shady environment. It thrives in the regions with humid climate, abundant rainfall, cloudy and misty weather, less sunshine, and fertile soil.

There are three types of tea trees, namely arbor-type tea tree, semi-arbor-type tea tree, and shrub-type tea tree. The arbor-type tea tree is normally large and tall, as tall as three to five meters. Its main trunk is obviously upright and its branches grow from a relatively high position. It has a highly developed root system. The semi-arbor-type tea tree has a medium height. Its main trunk is rather obvious and its branches grow from a position rather close to the ground. It has a relatively developed root system. The shrub-type tea tree is small and short. It is only 1.5 to 3 meters tall. Its branches grow thickly near the ground or out of the stem. The mature tea tree has no obvious main trunk. Its root system is distributed rather shallowly and its side roots are highly developed.