The central question of the research was addressed to comparative characteristics of white and black Ceylon tea based on morphological features of the leaf. The relevance of the study is due significant increasing falsifications of black and white tea on markets in Russia and all around the world. It should be noted that tea is still incomplete and insufficiently studied crop, despite its centuries-old use in human nutrition. Thus, the purpose of this work was to study the microstructure of

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... k and white tea to identify differences in morphological characteristics of the leaf and develop markers for identifying its variety. The objects of study of this work were white and black varieties OP1 teas of Nandana Tea Factory (Sri Lanka). In our research were used research methods includes organoleptic and microscopical methods. According to the results micro- and macroscopic studies of black and white tea samples showed that there are significant morphological differences in the structure of leaves of different varieties, such as the size and density of hairs, the density of stomata, the location of druses and sclereids, and outgrowths of the leaf edge. These signs can serve as reliable markers for identifying the grade of tea.