Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of camellia an evergreen shrub native to China, India and other East Asian countries.[3] Tea is also rarely made from the leaves of Camellia [4][5][6] After water, it is the most widely consumed drink in the world.[7] There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent [8] while others have vastly different profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect primarily due to its caffeine content.[9]
Tea plants are native to East Asia and probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northern Burma.[10][11][12] An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the third century AD, in a medical text written by [13] It was popular as a recreational drink during the Chinese Tang dynasty, and tea drinking subsequently spread to other East Asian Portuguese priests and merchants introduced it to Europe during the 16th century.[14] During the 17th century, drinking tea became fashionable among the English, who started to plant tea on a large scale in India.
The term herbal tea refers to drinks not made from Camellia They are the infusions of fruit, leaves, or other plant parts, such as steeps of chamomile. These may be called or herbal infusions to prevent confusion with tea made from the tea plant.
Although health benefits have been assumed throughout the history of Camellia consumption, there is no high-quality evidence showing that tea consumption gives significant benefits other than possibly increasing alertness, an effect caused by caffeine in the tea leaves.[64][65] In clinical research conducted in the early 21st century, it was found there is no scientific evidence to indicate that consuming tea affects any disease or improves health.[64]
Russia has a long, rich tea history dating to 1638 when tea was introduced to Tsar Michael. Social gatherings were considered incomplete without tea, which was traditionally brewed in a samovar.[117]
Indian tea culture is strong; the drink is the most popular hot beverage in the country. It is consumed daily[118] in almost all houses, offered to consumed in high amounts in domestic and official surroundings, and is made with the addition of milk with or without spices, and usually sweetened. It is sometimes served with biscuits to be dipped in the tea and eaten before consuming the tea. More often than not, it is drunk in "doses" of small cups (referred to as "cutting" chai if sold at street tea vendors) rather than one large cup.
India is the world's largest tea-drinking nation[122] although the per capita consumption of tea remains a modest 750 grams (26 oz) per person every year. Turkey, with 2.5 kilograms (5 lb 8 oz) of tea consumed per person per year, is the world's greatest per capita consumer.[123]
Tests of commercially popular teas have detected residues of banned toxic pesticides.[124][125]
Tea production in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda has been reported to make use of child labor according to the U.S. Department of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.[126] Workers who pick and pack tea on plantations in developing countries can face harsh working conditions and may earn below the living wage.[127]
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