Every year 3 million tonnes of tea is produced.
China is the largest manufacturer of tea, followed by India, then Kenya.
According to legend, tea was discovered in 2737 B.C. by Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung, known as the “Divine Healer.” He discovered the beverage when tea leaves accidentally fell into his pot of boiling water.
Afghanistan and Iran along with India, consider tea to be their national drink.
After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world.
There are four kinds of tea, black, green, white and oolong. They all come from the same plant, camellia sinensis. It is the way they are treated that makes each one distinct and different.
The art of reading tea leaves is called tasseography.
White tea goes through the shortest process of oxidation while black tea goes through the longest.
A tea plant can grow into a tree up to 52 feet high if the plant isn't cultivated and pruned.
Tea was initially sold in coffee houses in England. Only men were allowed to enter coffee houses, which were full of smoke and noise. Finally, in 1717, the Twining family opened the Golden Lyon, a teashop that allowed women. The shop is still open today, and the Twinings company is a prominent English marketer of tea
