Interesting Tea Facts That You May Not Know

We all know that tea has many benefits for our health, no matter whether you are a newcomer or a tea expert, we want to introduce you several interesting tea facts.

The origin of tea in different countries

1. All teas come from the tea plant Camellia Sinensis.

2. Tea came from the east, specifically China.

3. Legend said the second emperor of China discovered tea when leaves blew into his pot of boiling water in 2737 BC. He might have took a taste and found it delightful, so it can be spread out widely from China.

4. Tea spread out in Great Britain during the mid-1700s.

5. Solid blocks of tea were used as a currency in Siberia long before the 19th century.

6. Tea bags and iced tea are both invented in the United States in 1904.

The tea consumption of different countries

1. Tea is the second most consumed drink in the whole wide world after water.

2. 3 million tons of tea is produced every year among the whole world.

3. Tea is the national drink of Afghanistan and Iran.

4. Ireland is the largest nation of tea drinkers. Britain comes second.

5. British people drink about 165 millions cups of tea per day. That amounts to an amazing 62 billion cups every year.

6. The United States consumes 1.42 million pounds of tea every day.

The classification of tea

1. There are about 1,500 kinds of tea on estimate. And they are derived from six major varieties: white, yellow, oolong, green, black and post-fermented tea leaves.

2. The different tea types are only created due to different processing methods. For example, black tea is highly oxidized, fermented white tea is only minimally processed. Taste and appearance differ greatly depending on each processing method.

3. The most popular type of tea is black tea. It makes up about 75% of the world’s tea use.

4. Black tea in the United States is called ‘red tea’ in China.

5. Chinese prefer the less processed green tea while the Britain, America and much of the rest of the world are accustomed to black tea.

The process of making tea

1. A pound of loose tea leaves can make more than 200 cups of tea.

2. The less processed the tea leaf, the greater antioxidants. This means that green tea has more antioxidants than black tea, and white tea has the most antioxidants of all!

3. Teas don’t taste the same. Their taste would depend largely on the temperature and taste of water and the time they took to brew.

4. Tea tasting is no easy job you have to have a keen eye for tea leaves, a sharp taste for brewed teas, a sense of touch for the tea leaves and a keen smell to determine whether the aroma of brewed tea is good or not.

Related Article: Beginner’s Guide: How to Brew Tea

The benefits of tea (in addition to health)

1. Tea is not only good for your health, it has various functions. It’ll help you heal cuts, remove odors, also can be a great fertilizers, your floor cleaner and perfect for meat marinade.

2. If you don’t want to feel mosquito bites on your skin, dampen tea leaves to harness their scent and voila! You have a natural mosquito repellent at your home.

We hope that these little tea facts helped spark your imagination, and of course, if you know any other interesting tea facts please feel free to share them with us!