Growing tea used to be done from seeds that were re-planted. Nowadays reproduction of tea plants is basically accomplished by taking cuttings from selected plants.

The cuttings are taken from the chosen plants and then replanted onto nursery beds where they will remain for 12 to 18 months. As soon as they turn into young plants, they are replanted in the main plantation, being spaced out in such a way that the fully grown bushes will cover the entire area when they reach maturity. The plant is left for 4 years before any leaves can be plucked. Constant pruning and shaping will form its required height of 1.20m, hence creating the plucking table and giving a good framework to the bush. It will not reach full growth until the fifth year when it will begin to produce. It will still be pruned at varying intervals - on average every two years - in order to keep it at a good height for plucking.

A mature tea plant does not usually live for more than 40 or 50 years. Nonetheless some varieties can live up to 100 years.

At the end of the fifth year, the tea plant is ready to be harvested. This operation, which consists of a light, repeated, pruning of the young shoots, is carried out in a 7 to 15 days cycle, depending on the growth, the climate and the amount of tea to be plucked.

Plucking seasons in Asia:

• China: February to November,
• Northern India: February to November,
• Southern India: all year round,
• Indonesia: all year round,
• Japan: 4 times a year, from May to October,
• Sri Lanka: all year round except in high altitude,
• Taiwan: mainly in Spring, summer and autumn.

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