Reading Tea Trees

1775. Wednesday, February 22.--I had an opportunity of seeing Mr. Gordon's curious garden at Mile End, the like of which I suppose is hardly to be found in England, if in Europe. One thing in particular I learned here, the real nature of the tea tree. I was informed 1) that the green and the bohea are of quite different species; 2) that the bohea is much tenderer than the green; 3) that the green is an evergreen and bears, not only in the open air, but in the frost, perfectly well; 4) that the herb of Paraguay likewise bears the frost and is a species of tea; 5) and I observed that they are all species of bay or laurel. The leaf of green tea is both of the color, shape, and size of a bay leaf; that of bohea is smaller, softer, and of a darker color. So is the herb of Paraguay, which is of a dirty green and no larger than our common red sage. 

The Journal of John Wesley