Tea seed oil (also known as camellia oil) is an edible,
pale amber-green fixed oil with a sweet, herbal aroma. It is
cold-pressed mainly from the seeds of Camellia oleifera but
also from Camellia sinensis or Camellia japonica.
Tea oil has an extremely high smoke point (252 °C, 486 °F),
as compared to other oils. It is the main cooking oil in the
southern provinces of China—roughly one-seventh of the
country's population. In Japan tea oil is derived from
Camellia japonica, mainly from Goto Islands of Nagasaki
Prefecture and Izu Islands of Tokyo Prefecture. Tea seed oil
resembles olive oil and grape seed oil in its excellent
storage qualities and low content of saturated fat.
Monounsaturated oleic acid may comprise up to 88% of the fatty
acids. It is high in vitamin E and other antioxidants and low
in trans fat.
In addition to its use in salad
dressings, dips, marinades and sauces, for sautéing, stir
frying and frying and in margarine production, tea seed oil is
used to manufacture soap, hair oil, lubricants, paint and a
rustproofing oil as well as in synthesis of other high
molecular weight compounds. Japanese tea seed oil is used for
setting the hair of Sumo wrestlers and for tempura.
Tea seed oil should not be confused with Tea Tree Oil
(Melaleuca Oil), an essential oil extracted from the leaves of
the paperbark Melaleuca alternifolia and used for medicinal
purposes.
Tea seed oil is also not to be confused with the tea used
in beverages. Tea seed oil is pressed from the seeds of
Camellia Oleifera, whereas the dried leaves of the Camellia
Sinensis plant are used in black, green, jasmine and oolong
teas. Camellia Oleifera and Sinensis are close cousins in the
Camellia plant family, and it is therefore no surprise that
tea seed oil boasts several of the wonderful nutritional
health benefits of drinking tea.