1. You will be surprised to know that there are around 1,500 different types of tea.
2. Do you know that tea is the national drink in Afghanistan and Iran. Both the green tea and black tea are prepared with lots of sugars. Black tea is a warming beverage and green tea is consumed as a thirst quencher.
3. The United Kingdom consumes about 62 billion cups of tea per year , or 165 million cups a day.
4. Ireland stands in first place when it comes to the list of countries ordered by annual per capita consumption of tea .
5. Russians started drinking tea in the 17th century, but it did not become widely popular until the beginning of the 19th century because of its high price. Tea in Russia has historically been prepared in a samovar, which keeps tea hot for hours is a heated metal container.
6. It is the man’s job to pour the tea in Morocco. To have a slightly frothy head in each glass of tea he holds the long spouted pot high above the glass while pouring.
7. India is the world’s second largest producer of tea. In 2009, India produced 979,000 tonnes;China was first with 1,359,000 tonnes.
8. It is widely believed that iced tea was invented by Richard Blechynden, a British tea merchant at the St. Louis World Fair in 1904 .
9. Most of the tea that is consumed in the United States is iced tea and an estimate shows that it is around 85%. Each year over 519 million pounds of tea is imported into the United States.
10. Do you know that in the U.S. over 1.42 million pounds of tea is consumed every day.
11. You will be surprised to know that the Lipton Tea Factory produces 5 billion tea bags a year, present in Jebel Ali, Dubai.
12. Worldwide the total value of the tea market was over $20 billion, in 2005.
13. Every year over 3 million tons of tea is produced around the world.
14. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world.
15. White tea undergoes the shortest process of oxidation. Black tea undergoes the longest.
16. It is important to store loose tea or tea bags in a sealed or tin jar, because tea absorbs moisture.
17. Americans consumed around 65 billion servings of tea in 2011 which is approximately 3 billion gallons. An estimate shows that 14% of all tea was green tea, 85% was black tea and the rest was white tea and oolong tea.
18. The North-east and South have the greatest concentration of tea drinkers, in the United States.
19. It takes about three years before a new plant is ready to harvest but for a tea plant to produce seed it takes around four to 12 years.
20. At least 50 inches of rain a year is needed for tea plants.
21. Do you know that most of the world’s tea is grown between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn and in mountain areas 3,000-7,000 feet above sea level. Tea-producing countries include Indonesia, Kenya Malawi, Sri Lanka, Argentina, China, India, and Tanzania.
22. The flushes of the plant or just the top 1 to 2 inches of a mature plant are picked to make tea. It takes 7 to 15 days during growing season for a new flush to grow.
23. You will be surprised to know that a tea plant can grow into a tree that is as tall as 52 feet if its leaves are not harvested. But the cultivated plants are usually pruned to waist height.
24. There are 6 basic categories of tea: 1) white, 2) black, 3) post-fermented, 4) oolong, 5) yellow and 6) green.
25. Do you know that in China Black tea is called “red tea”.
26. At a price of $8,888 per couple, The Ritz Carlton of Hong Kong has the world’s most expensive High Tea meal.
27. The most expensive teabag in the world is a handcrafted diamond teabag made by Boodles jewelers worth $15,250, which contains 280 diamonds and is being used to raise money for a children’s charity in Manchester, England.
28. Tieguanyin is the most expensive tea in the world which is a rare Chinese tea and costs around $1,500/lb. The tea is named after the Buddhist deity Guan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy) and is an oolong tea.
29. Recent studies suggest that tea, especially green tea helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, helps bad breath, reduces some forms of cancer, reduces blood pressure, helps with weight control, acts as an anti-inflammatory, kills bacteria and virus, and has neuro-protective power.
30. You will be surprised to know that more than half of tea brewed in the U. S. was prepared using tea bags which is over 65%.
31. Do you know that tea was discovered accidentally, it was discovered by Chinese Emperor Shen-Ning in 2737 B. C., where he discovered the beverage when tea leaves accidentally blew into his pot of boiling water.
32.In 1904 the United States invented both the tea bag and iced tea. Many tea lovers consider the tea bag as one of the worst inventions of the 20th century and most of us don’t know that Tea brewed with loose tea is generally considered to be richer than tea made from bags.
33. From one pound of loose tea leaves more than 200 cups of tea can be brewed.
34. Tea contains less amount of caffeine than coffee, a cup of tea contains less than half the caffeine of a cup of coffee.
35. Famous songs about tea are “No, No, Nanette,” “Tea for Two,” and “When I Take My Sugar to Tea.”
36. The Duchess of Bedford,one of Queen Victoria’s ladies in waiting is usually credited with the idea of “English Afternoon Tea.” The British invented two kinds of afternoon tea: “High tea,” which is served on a “high” dining room table and “low tea,” or afternoon tea served on a low “tea table.”
37. You will be surprised to know that Black tea constitutes most of the world’s tea consumption which is around 75%.
38. Black tea is the most common tea beverage in the United States, Europe, and the U.K.. Green tea is popular in China and Japan. White tea and Oolong are in general less popular.
39. Do you know that all tea is made from the leaf of the plant Camellia sinensis and the specific types of tea are made by processing the tea leaves differently.
40. Oolong tea is the most “fussy” type of tea. The least processed type of tea is White tea.
41. Tea is an important part of the day and an expression of hospitality in many parts of the world.
42. Tea was a major factor in establishing connections between the West and the East. You will be surprised to know that tea was also a catalyst for developing new technologies such as faster transport ships and many others.
43. Green tea can help to boost the health of plants when added to water as it is full of antioxidants.
44. Studies show that green tea can stop bleeding. The tannins that are found in green tea help to stop bleeding by coagulating the blood.
45. The world’s best selling tea brand is Lipton.