Tea is the most popular beverage in the world, and as such you would think that everyone is an expert on the subject, but in fact there are a lot of things about tea that people don’t know. For example, there is only one main type of tea plant. Which is Camelia Sininesis. But there are many different cultivars of the original tea tree. The main two are Camelia Sinensis Sinensis, common in China, and Camellia Sinensis Assamica, Common in India. However, all kinds of tea can be made from either one of these, but there are regional difference and different processes to finish the tea once it is harvested. So, many varieties are created. The most common of which are. Black tea, Green tea, Oolong, Pu erh, and White tea. Following is a list of interesting tea facts.
- Tea Trees Live a Long Time: Big Snow Mountain region in China has an area of tea trees that have an average age of 2500 years. Ancient tea trees are a national treasure and the tea from them is extremely valuable. One tree in Yunan is believed to be 3200 years old.
- Top 5 Tea producers: The countries that grow the most tea are: China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Turkey, but there are many other tea growing regions in the world. Tea specialists in Dubai carry all types of tea.
- Tea is Healthy: Aside from reducing the production of stress hormone cortisol, Tea is an excellent source of polyphenols which are antioxidants, long known for health benefits Tea also has a lot of caffeine, black tea has the most, almost equal to coffee, and green tea has the least. Tea also contains valuable minerals, such as potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, copper, and zinc.
- Top 5 Tea consumers: The countries that drink the most tea are: Turkey, Ireland, United Kingdom, Russia, and Morocco.
- Bubble Tea: A popular drink from Asia usually contains more sugar than most soda drinks and most often contains no tea whatsoever.
- Tea House: The oldest Tea house in the world is in Kyoto, Japan and was founded in 1160.
- Black Dragon: Oolong tea, which is somewhere between a green tea and a black tea, has a fruity aroma. The tea gets its name from the mandarin word for dragon, because the leaves after they are processed, sometime resemble black dragons. Taiwan has perfected Oolong tea and the most expensive type of tea you can buy is from Taiwan. It’s called Tieguanyin and it can cost as much as $3,000 a kilogram.
- Global production: In 2015 5.2 billion kilograms of tea was produced globally. China produces about half the world’s tea, but Kenya is the world’s largest exporter of tea.
There are very many brands and types of tea in the world, there is no place you can go where they do not have tea. But the way people drink tea is very different. The British like to add milk and sugar and the Chinese like it just the way it is. In Japan drinking tea sometimes comes with elaborate ceremonies. But everyone is happier after a cup of tea and it truly is one of the simple pleasures in life.
