About Camellia

What this is

Camellia Tea Knowledge Base · 草木间, published by 茶食新知, is an objective, rigorous online tea knowledge base for a global audience. It is not a marketing site or a shop, but a long-term, continuously expanding encyclopedia of tea — from a single leaf to a cup.

In the name, 草木间 (“among grass and trees”) comes from unpacking the Chinese character for tea (a person amid plants); Camellia is the botanical genus of the tea plant. One Chinese, one Latin — matching the site’s dual nature of culture and science.

Author and credit

Most articles on this site are independently researched, written and revised by the principal author under the name 茶食新知. It is the author’s WeChat official-account name and publishing identity, not the name of an invented multi-person editorial team. Camellia Tea Knowledge Base is the project that publishes and maintains the articles and tools.

Reader questions, corrections and specialist review are credited according to the contribution made. Co-authorship is reserved for substantial participation in writing a complete article.

How I work

An article usually starts with a real question: why a process creates a flavour, what a sensory term actually means, or why different sources give different parameters. Sources are then checked in roughly this order: standards and official material; peer-reviewed work and academic books; industry material; and contextual leads. The result is written as an accessible L1 followed by an L2 that preserves mechanisms, data and uncertainty.

Software and AI tools may assist source organisation, language editing, translation, structural discussion or technical implementation, but are not treated as factual sources. Key facts, terminology, citations and final wording are checked and accepted by the principal author. The full approach is described in the editorial and citation policy.

Independence and review boundaries

The site currently focuses on knowledge and interactive tools rather than tea sales or product recommendations. Ordinary articles default to “Author-checked · not externally reviewed”; they are not collectively presented as expert-reviewed. Genuine source checking or specialist review is labelled according to the work done and the reviewer’s preference.

If future content involves commercial support, samples, commissions or another relationship that could influence judgement, that relationship will be disclosed on the relevant article rather than being hidden behind the site’s general reputation.

Five reading domains, nine chapters

Each chapter retains a distinct editorial role, but the site does not treat all nine as equally weighted. The front of the site uses five reading domains to make the learning path clearer.

Know tea (01–03)

• 01 History — origin and global spread
• 02 The tea plant — the tea plant and leaf chemistry
• 03 Regions and cultivation — growing regions, terroir and cultivation

Tea science (04–05)

• 04 Processing — the six categories and world methods
• 05 The science — the science behind decisive processing steps

Flavour in practice (06–07)

• 06 Flavour and evaluation — aroma, taste, mouthfeel and sensory language
• 07 Brewing — using brewing variables to reach a flavour goal

Tea and culture (08)

• 08 Tea culture — ways of drinking tea and their cultural settings

Contemporary issues (09)

• 09 Topics and issues — health, myths, industry and sustainability

How to read: a layered design

Every article comes in two layers, so you can take what you need:

• L1 · Overview — no jargon; what it is and why it’s interesting.
• L2 · Deep Dive — for deeper readers: mechanisms, parameters and research.

Interactive visuals

Each theme has an interactive visual to aid understanding: a history timeline, a world map, an oxidation spectrum, process animations, a flavour wheel, a brewing quick-reference, and a composition ↔ flavour chart. Dragging and clicking often beats reading.

Bilingual

The whole site offers two independent versions in Chinese and English, switchable from the top. Translations follow the glossary.

Credibility and citation

We aim to be scientifically grounded[1]:

• Key claims about mechanisms, data and health cite sources, gathered in References.
• We carefully separate legend from history (e.g. the Shennong tale is myth, not fact) and distinguish “established” from “traditional / unverified.”
• We are cautious about health claims, avoiding absolutes and therapeutic claims.
• Figures are usually common approximate ranges, with their uncertainty noted.

Corrections and feedback

Knowledge is never flawless. If you spot an error or have something to add, feedback is welcome — continual revision is exactly what this site promises.

Resources

• Glossary: bilingual terms, searchable and filterable
• References: the site-wide library of sources, grouped by chapter
• Editorial and citation policy: source priority, health content, AI assistance and review labels
• Corrections and feedback: prepare an issue and send it through WeChat
• Public update record: material revisions to facts, citations and features
• Content use and reproduction: boundaries for sharing, quotation, republication and reuse of interactive code

Continuously updated. Content here will keep growing and improving.

References

1. Chen Zongmao (ed.). China Tea Dictionary. China Light Industry Press, 2000. — Comprehensive reference for tea classification, history, and terminology; widely used across the encyclopedia.
2. Wan Xiaochun. Tea Biochemistry (3rd ed.). China Agriculture Press, 2003. — Authoritative textbook on tea chemistry, processing mechanisms, and quality formation.