Tea Cultivation
Corson cultivates the Assam Hybrid variety, which originates from Sri Lanka (Ceylon). The flavour, taste and characteristics of tea vary from one region to another according to the richness and composition of the soil, the altitude of the plantations, the climate and temperature. In addition to the manufacturing methods chosen by each producer, it is the soil which determines the character and the strength of a tea.
In the fields, for practical reasons in order to facilitate the picking process, the Camellia Sinensis tree is kept at a height of about 1 metre. However,the plant can grow to a height of 10 metres in nature. Tea is grown on the high grounds of the island, mainly in Curepipe and Nouvelle France, where it thrives in a humid climate and well-drained soil. It is a robust plant which can live for many years.
Leaf Picking
 The only company to insist on the traditional picking method of the terminal bud of the tea stem ("two leaves and a bud"), Corson favours the hand-picking of leaves to guaranty the quality of its products.
It has been scientifically proven that these three sap-rich leaves contain the highest level of polyphenols. These antioxidents neutralise the damaging effects of free-radicals which constantly attack our body cells and are partly responsible for cardiovascular illnesses, diabetes and cancer. It is to preserve the virtues of Mauritian tea that Corson will not mix old and new leaves, insisting that the picking be done delicately by hand to avoid breaking the leaf. The transformation into tea takes place in a very short period of time after the leaves are picked.
In Mauritius picking takes place year-round, but most of the leaves are gathered during the summer months, from October to March.
Scientific research
In May 2004 a research report entitled Polyphenols, Vitamins and Antioxydants in the Mauritian Diet , directed by Dr Theeshan Bahorun, associate professor at the University of Mauritius and president of the Food and Agricultural Research Council, established and codified the chemical properties of Mauritian tea, its phenol content and its antioxydant capacity. This study, financed by the Mauritius Research Council, was performed in the domain of horticulture and nutrition at the University of Mauritius in the department of Biological Sciences. It allowed the researchers to establish a link between the antioxydant action of Mauritian teas and their phenolic components.
 Numerous scientific arguments point to the importance of including fruit, vegetables and drinks such as tea in the diet for better health and the prevention of disease. An excess of free radicals (reactive chemical entities produced by our body), responsible for damage to cells, cause pathological conditions. The list of diseases which involve free radicals, increases all the time: cardiovascular illnesses, diabetes, tissue lesions during transfusion, eye pathology, inflamatory diseases, cancers, AIDS, Alzeimer's syndrome, Parkinson's disease. Considering the frequent occurrence of cardiovascular illnesses, diabetes and cancers in Mauritius and the vital role of antioxydants for the optimal functioning of the human body, this study is of utmost importance.
It would seem therefore that Mauritian teas, being important sources of antioxydants, have a prophylactic potential on cardiovascular illnesses.In this light, a clinical study is being considered to demonstrate the effect of Mauritian teas on certain stress markers responsible for the development of cardiac pathology.This study will be performed with the collaboration of Dr Sunil Gunness, of the Pamplemousses Cardiac Centre, and the Prof Okezie I. Aruoma, of London South Bank University.
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