Camellia sinensis is one of the major commercial crops that is broadly grown in many countries such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It is utilized in the production of beverages that are non-alcoholic and consumers friendly. The leaves of tea plants are green, but during the plant evolution under environmental stress, a variety of complex mechanisms are developed, leading to variations in leaf color. The tea plant is considered to be a light-sensitive plant. In this review, we summarized the mechanism of how light has crucial effects on the photosynthetic machinery of the tea plant and the accumulation of specialized metabolites such as carotenoids, flavonoids, caffeine, and chlorophyll which ultimately affects its development. There is a strong correlation between light intensity, photosynthesis, and the development of tea plants. High intensity of light induces changes in phytochrome which inhibit the chlorophyll synthesis in tea plants due to the photosensitivity of chlorophyllide an oxidase and coproporphyrinogen III oxidase; leaf etiolation can worsen while under the moderate shade, the color of the leaf turns to green, the accumulation of chlorophylls and Carotenoids biosynthesis also increases under medium shade, due to upregulation of supreme carotenoids-regulating genes, while extreme shading downregulates them, which offers a significant approach for tea plant cultivation and marketing.
