Fig. 1

Map extracted from [18] shows the geometric centers of tea production in the mainland of China. Taiwan province is not discussed due to the data limitation. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, tea production regions in the mainland of China consist of eastern, central, and southwestern three parts, a total of 17 provinces and autonomous regions where the weather is warm and damp. Provinces of Shaanxi, Shandong, Gansu, and Henan are not highlighted because tea is only planted partly in these areas. Not all places are suitable to produce the well-known black tea, green tea, and Oolong tea. Instead, each province has its own weather and mountain conditions and produce several unique types of tea. For example, Zhejiang province produce Long-jing green tea and Anji white tea (one of partially fermented tea), and Yunan province is famous for its Yunnan dian hong (one kind of black tea)