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How long can a China tea plant remain economically productive?

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Neatly planted rows of green tea bushes stretch across rolling fields with Mount Fuji, capped with snow, rising in the background in Japan. — tea Rows of tea (*Camellia sinensis*) growing in Japan, with Mount Fuji in the background.

The China variety of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis) is a hardy, multistemmed bush capable of remaining economically productive for at least 100 years. This longevity significantly exceeds that of the Assam variety, which typically has an economic life of about 40 years under conditions of regular pruning and plucking.1