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{{Short description|Brewed drink made from tea leaves}}
{{About|the beverage made from ''Camellia sinensis''|other uses}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox beverage
| name = Tea
| type = Hot or cold beverage
| image = Longjing tea steeping in gaiwan.jpg
| caption = [[Longjing tea|Longjing]] [[green tea]] being infused in a ''[[gaiwan]]''
| origin = China<ref>{{cite news |first=Thomas |last=Fuller |title=A Tea From the Jungle Enriches a Placid Village |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/world/asia/21tea.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York |page=A8 |date=21 April 2008 |access-date=23 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214133259/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/world/asia/21tea.html |archive-date=14 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| introduced = First recorded in China in 59 BC, possibly originated earlier{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=29–30}}
| color = 
}}

'''Tea''' is an [[Aromaticity|aromatic]] [[drink|beverage]] prepared by pouring hot or [[boiling water]] over [[Curing (vegetable preservation)|cured]] or fresh leaves of ''[[Camellia sinensis]]'', an [[evergreen]] [[shrub]] native to [[East Asia]] which  originated in the borderlands of [[Southwest China|south-western China]] and [[Geography of Myanmar|northern Myanmar]].<ref name=Yamamoto /><ref>{{cite book|author1=Mary Lou Heiss|author2=Robert J. Heiss|title=The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide|url=https://archive.org/details/storyofteacultur0000heis|quote=Camellia sinensis originated in southeast Asia, specifically around the intersection of 29th parallel and 98th meridian, the point of confluence of the lands of southwest China and Tibet|url-access=registration}}, north Burma, and northeast India, citing Mondal (2007) p. 519</ref>{{sfn|Heiss|Heiss|2007|pp=6–7}} Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of ''[[Camellia taliensis]]'' and Camellia formosensis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sevencups.com/shop/lao-shu-dian-hong-old-tree-yunnan|title=Laoshu Dianhong (Old Tree Yunnan)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://teatrekker.com/product/yunnan-da-bai-silver-needles/|title=Yunnan da Bai Silver Needles – Tea Trekker}}</ref><ref>Liu ''et al.'' (2012)</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Su |first1=Mong-Huai |last2=Hsieh |first2=Chang-Fu |last3=Tsou |first3=Chih-Hua |date=2009 |title=The confirmation of Camellia formosensis (Theaceae) as an independent species based on DNA sequence analyses |url=https://ejournal.sinica.edu.tw/bbas/content/2009/4/Bot504-11.pdf |journal=[[Botanical Studies]] |volume=50 |pages=477–485 |via=eJournal}}</ref> After plain [[Drinking water|water]], tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world.<ref name="Macfarlane">{{cite book |first1=Alan |last1=Macfarlane |author-link=Alan Macfarlane |last2=Macfarlane |first2=Iris |author-link2=Iris Macfarlane |title=The Empire of Tea |publisher=The Overlook Press |isbn=978-1-58567-493-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/empireoftearemar00macf/page/32 32] |year=2004 |url=https://archive.org/details/empireoftearemar00macf/page/32}}</ref> There are many types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and [[astringent]] flavour, while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy [[Note (perfumery)|notes]].<ref name="ody">{{cite book |author1=Penelope Ody |title=Complete Guide to Medicinal Herbs |publisher=Dorling Kindersley Publishing |location=New York |year= 2000|page=48 |isbn=978-0-7894-6785-0 }}</ref> Tea has a [[Stimulant|stimulating]] effect in humans, primarily due to its [[caffeine]] content.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cappelletti |first1=Simone |last2=Piacentino |first2=Daria |last3=Sani |first3=Gabriele |last4=Aromatario |first4=Mariarosaria  |title=Caffeine: cognitive and physical performance enhancer or psychoactive drug? |journal=Current Neuropharmacology |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=71–88 |date=January 2015 |pmid=26074744 |pmc=4462044 |doi=10.2174/1570159X13666141210215655 |issn=1570-159X}}</ref>

An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the third century AD, in a medical text written by Chinese physician [[Hua Tuo]].<ref>[[#Martin|Martin]], p.&nbsp;29: "beginning in the third century CE, references to tea seem more credible, in particular those dating to the time of Hua T'o, a highly respected physician and surgeon"</ref> It was popularised as a recreational drink during the Chinese [[Tang dynasty]], and tea drinking spread to other East Asian countries. [[Jesuit China missions#The arrival of Jesuits|Portuguese priests]] and merchants introduced it to Europe during the 16th century.<ref name="caff" /> During the 17th century, drinking tea became fashionable among the British, who later started to plant tea on a large scale in [[Company rule in India|India]], where it had previously been used only as a medicine.

The term [[herbal tea]] refers to drinks not made from ''Camellia sinensis''. They are the infusions of fruit, leaves, or [[Plant anatomy|other plant parts]], such as [[steeping|steeps]] of [[Rose hip|rosehip]], [[chamomile]], or [[rooibos]]. These may be called ''tisanes'' or ''herbal infusions'' to prevent confusion with tea made from the tea plant.

== Etymology ==
{{Main|Etymology of tea}}

The [[etymology]] of the various words for ''tea'' reflects the history of transmission of tea drinking and trade from China.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp= 262–264}} Nearly all of the words for tea worldwide fall into three broad groups: ''te'', ''cha'' and ''chai'', present in English as ''tea'', ''cha'' or ''char'', and ''chai''. The earliest of the three to enter English is ''cha'', which came in the 1590s via the Portuguese, who traded in [[Macao]] and picked up the [[Cantonese]] pronunciation of the word.<ref name=oed>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=tea&allowed_in_frame=0|title=tea|publisher=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p= 262}} The more common ''tea'' form arrived in the 17th century via the Dutch, who acquired it either indirectly from the Malay ''teh'', or directly from the ''tê'' pronunciation in [[Min Chinese]].<ref name=oed /> The third form ''chai'' (meaning "spiced tea") originated from a northern Chinese pronunciation of ''cha'', which travelled overland to Central Asia and [[Persia]] where it picked up a Persian ending ''yi''. The Chinese word for tea itself was perhaps derived from the non-Sinitic languages of the botanical homeland of the tea plant in south-west China (or [[Burma]]), possibly from an archaic [[Austroasiatic languages|Austro-Asiatic]] root word *''la'', meaning "leaf".{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p= 266}}

== Origin and history ==

===Botanical origin===
{{further|History of tea|History of tea in China}}
[[File:Camellia sinensis - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-025.jpg|thumb|Tea plant (''Camellia sinensis'') from ''[[Köhler's Medicinal Plants]]'', 1897]]
Tea plants are native to East Asia and the probable center of origin of tea is near the source of the [[Irrawaddy River]] from where it spread out fan-wise into southeast China, Indo-China and [[Assam]]. The natural home of the tea plant is considered to be within the comparatively small fan-shaped area between [[Nagaland]], [[Manipur]] and [[Mizoram]] along the [[Myanmar|Burma]] frontier in the west, through [[China]] as far as the [[Zhejiang]] Province in the east, and from this line generally south through the hills to Burma and [[Thailand]] to [[Vietnam]]. The west–east axis indicated above is about 2,400&nbsp;km long extending from longitude 95°-120°E. The north–south axis covers about 1,920&nbsp;km, starting from the northern part of Burma, latitude 29°N passing through [[Yunnan]], [[Tonkin|Tongkin]], Thailand, [[Laos]] and on to Annan, reaching latitude 11°N.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saikia |first=Gautam Kumar |date=19 September 2021 |title=Origin And Distribution Of The Tea Plant |url=https://teaorb.com/en-us/blog/origin-of-tea |website=teaorb.com |access-date=5 January 2023 |archive-date=15 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815111058/https://teaorb.com/en-us/blog/origin-of-tea }}</ref>

Chinese (small-leaf) type tea (''C. sinensis'' var. ''sinensis'') may have originated in southern China possibly with hybridization of unknown wild tea relatives. Since there are no known wild populations of this tea, its origin is speculative.<ref name="Meegahakumbura 1" /><ref name="Meegahakumbura 2" />

Given their genetic differences forming distinct [[clade]]s, Chinese Assam-type tea (''C. sinensis'' var. ''assamica'') may have two parentages – one being found in southern [[Yunnan]] ([[Xishuangbanna]], [[Pu'er City]]) and the other in western Yunnan ([[Lincang]], [[Baoshan, Yunnan|Baoshan]]). Many types of Southern Yunnan Assam tea have been hybridized with the closely related species ''[[Camellia taliensis]]''. Unlike Southern Yunnan Assam tea, Western Yunnan Assam tea shares many genetic similarities with Indian Assam-type tea (also ''C. sinensis'' var. ''assamica''). Thus, Western Yunnan Assam tea and Indian Assam tea both may have originated from the same parent plant in the area where southwestern China, Indo-Burma, and Tibet meet. However, as the Indian Assam tea shares no [[haplotype]]s with Western Yunnan Assam tea, Indian Assam tea is likely to have originated from an independent domestication. Some Indian Assam tea appears to have hybridized with the species ''[[Camellia pubicosta]]''.<ref name="Meegahakumbura 1">{{cite journal |last1=Meegahakumbura |first1=MK |last2=Wambulwa |first2=MC |last3=Thapa |first3=KK |display-authors=etal |year=2016 |title=Indications for three independent domestication events for the tea plant (''Camellia sinensis'' (L.) O. Kuntze) and new insights into the origin of tea germplasm in China and India revealed by nuclear microsatellites |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=11 |issue=5 |article-number=e0155369 |pmid=27218820 |pmc=4878758 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0155369 |bibcode=2016PLoSO..1155369M|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Meegahakumbura 2">{{cite journal |vauthors=Meegahakumbura MK, Wambulwa MC, Li MM, Thapa KK, Sun YS, Möller M, Xu JC, Yang JB, Liu J, Liu BY, Li DZ, Gao LM |display-authors=3 |date=2018 |title=Domestication origin and breeding history of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) in China and India based on nuclear microsatellites and cpDNA sequence data |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |volume=8 |article-number=2270 |pmid=29422908 |pmc=5788969 |doi= 10.3389/fpls.2017.02270|bibcode=2018FrPS....8.2270M |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Assuming a generation of 12 years, Chinese small-leaf tea is estimated to have diverged from Assam tea around 22,000 years ago, while Chinese Assam tea and Indian Assam tea diverged 2,800 years ago. The divergence of Chinese small-leaf tea and Assam tea would correspond to the last [[Ice age|glacial maximum]].<ref name="Meegahakumbura 1" /><ref name="Meegahakumbura 2" />

===Early tea drinking===
[[File:Shinno (Shennong) derivative.jpg|thumb|upright|A 19th-century Japanese painting depicting [[Shennong]]: Chinese legends credit Shennong with the invention of tea.<ref name="laura2" />]]

People in ancient East Asia ate tea for centuries, perhaps even [[millennia]], before ever consuming it as a beverage. They would nibble on the leaves raw, add them to [[soups]] or [[Leaf vegetable|greens]], or [[ferment]] them and chew them as [[areca nut]] is [[betel nut chewing|chewed]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Driem |first1=George van |author1-link=George van Driem |title=The tale of tea: a comprehensive history of tea from prehistoric times to the present day |date=2019 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden; Boston |isbn=978-90-04-38625-9 |page=20 |language=en |chapter=The Primordial Origins of Tea}}</ref>

Tea drinking may have begun in the region of [[Yunnan]], where it was used for medicinal purposes. It is believed that in [[Sichuan]], "people began to boil tea leaves for consumption into a concentrated liquid without the addition of other leaves or herbs, thereby using tea as a bitter yet stimulating drink, rather than as a medicinal concoction."{{sfn|Heiss|Heiss|2007|pp=6–7}}

Chinese legends attribute the invention of tea to the mythical [[Shennong]] (in central and northern China) in 2737 BC, although evidence suggests that tea drinking may have been introduced from southwest China.<ref name="laura2">{{Citation| last=Yee| first=L.K.| title=Tea's Wonderful History| publisher=The Chinese Historical and Cultural Project| quote=year 1996–2012| url=http://www.chcp.org/tea.html| access-date=17 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020803115304/http://chcp.org/tea.html |archive-date=3 August 2002 }}</ref> The earliest written records of tea come from China. The word ''tú'' {{Wikt-lang|zh|荼}} appears in the ''[[Classic of Poetry|Shijing]]'' and other ancient texts to signify a kind of "bitter vegetable" ({{lang|zh|苦菜}}), and it is possible that it referred to many different plants such as [[sow thistle]], [[chicory]], or [[Polygonum|smartweed]],{{sfn|Benn|2015|p=22}} as well as tea.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=264–65}} In the ''[[Chronicles of Huayang]]'', it was recorded that the [[Ba (state)|Ba]] people in Sichuan presented ''tu'' to the [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] king. The [[Qin (state)|Qin]] later conquered the state of [[Ba (state)|Ba]] and its neighbour [[Shu (state)|Shu]], and according to the 17th century scholar [[Gu Yanwu]] who wrote in ''Ri Zhi Lu'' ({{lang|zh|日知錄}}): "It was after the Qin had taken Shu that they learned how to drink tea."{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=29–30}} Another possible early reference to tea is found in a letter written by the [[Qin dynasty]] general Liu Kun who requested that some "real tea" to be sent to him.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NT8J5qDjABIC&pg=PR18 |title=All the Tea in China |author=Kit Boey Chow |author2=Ione Kramer |pages=2–3 |publisher=Sinolingua |date=1990 |isbn=978-0-8351-2194-1 |access-date=21 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831072957/https://books.google.com/books?id=NT8J5qDjABIC&pg=PR18&lpg=PR18 |archive-date=31 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The earliest known physical evidence<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/archaeologists-discover-worlds-oldest-tea-buried-with-ancient-chinese-emperor-a6805171.html|title=Archaeologists discover world's oldest tea buried with ancient Chinese emperor|work=[[The Independent]]|publisher=Independent Print Limited|access-date=15 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008011801/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/archaeologists-discover-worlds-oldest-tea-buried-with-ancient-chinese-emperor-a6805171.html|archive-date=8 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> of tea was discovered in 2016 in the mausoleum of [[Emperor Jing of Han]] in [[Xi'an]], indicating that tea from the genus ''Camellia'' was drunk by [[Han dynasty]] emperors as early as the second century BC.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Earliest tea as evidence for one branch of the Silk Road across the Tibetan Plateau|volume=6|article-number=18955|author=Houyuan Lu|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|doi=10.1038/srep18955|pmid=26738699|pmc=4704058| date=7 January 2016|display-authors=etal|bibcode=2016NatSR...618955L}}</ref> The Han dynasty work "The Contract for a Youth", written by [[Wang Bao]] in 59 BC,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://phys.org/news/2016-01-world-oldest-tea-chinese-emperor.html|title=World's oldest tea found in Chinese emperor's tomb|publisher=[[Phys.org]]|date=28 January 2016|quote=The oldest written reference to tea is from the year 59 BC.|access-date=22 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917190549/http://phys.org/news/2016-01-world-oldest-tea-chinese-emperor.html|archive-date=17 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> contains the first known reference to boiling tea. Among the tasks listed to be undertaken by the youth, the contract states that "he shall boil tea and fill the utensils" and "he shall buy tea at Wuyang".{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=29–30}} The first record of tea cultivation is dated to this period, during which tea was cultivated on Meng Mountain ({{lang|zh|蒙山}}) near [[Chengdu]].{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=30–31}} Another early credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century AD, in a medical text by the Chinese physician [[Hua Tuo]], who stated, "to drink bitter t'u constantly makes one think better."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AGaTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |title=The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug |author=Bennett Alan Weinberg, Bonnie K. Bealer |page=28 |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-92722-2 |access-date=7 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513051901/https://books.google.com/books?id=AGaTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28 |archive-date=13 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, before the [[Tang dynasty]], tea-drinking was primarily a southern Chinese practice centered in [[Jiankang]].{{sfn|Benn|2015|p=42}} Tea was disdained by the [[Northern and Southern dynasties|Northern dynasties]] aristocrats, who describe it as inferior to yogurt.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3qmwywEACAAJ&q=slaves'%20drink&pg=PA76 |title=The Jiankang Empire in Chinese and World History |author=Andrew Chittick |pages=75–76 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-19-093754-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PASE4LVLzQ0C&q=yogurt&pg=PA22 |title=Culture and Power in the Reconstitution of the Chinese Realm, 200–600 |editor1=Scott Pearce |editor2=Audrey G. Spiro |editor3=Patricia Buckley Ebrey |page=22 |publisher=Harvard University Asia Center |year=2001 |isbn=0-674-00523-6}}</ref> It became widely popular during the Tang dynasty, when it spread to Korea, [[Japan]], and Vietnam. ''[[The Classic of Tea]]'', a treatise on tea and its preparations, was written by the 8th century Chinese writer, [[Lu Yu]]. The current Chinese word for tea ([[wikt:茶|茶]]) appeared in ''The Classic of Tea'' by removing a stroke from the word ''tu''.{{sfn|Benn|2015|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=XF17CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA22 22]}}  Lu was known to have influenced tea drinking on a large part in China.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |author=Miranda Brown |date=2 March 2022 |title=The Medieval Influencer Who Convinced the World to Drink Tea—Not Eat It |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/eating-tea? |website=Atlas Obscura}}</ref>

===Developments===
[[File:Tea with ingredients.jpg|thumb|right|Tea with ingredients, China]]

Through the centuries, a variety of techniques for processing tea, and a number of different forms of tea, were developed. During the Han and [[Six Dynasties]], tea was steamed and pounded, shaped into cake form, slowly dried over low fire, and suspended to air dry. Chunks of tea were then boiled to drink, flavoured with orange peels, [[jujube]], mint, ginger or [[scallion]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0zp6iMZoqt0C&pg=PA362 |title=Six Dynasties Civilization |author= Albert E. Dien |publisher=Yale University Press |page=362 |year= 2007 |isbn=978-0-300-07404-8 }}</ref> Tea was similarly prepared in cake form during the Tang dynasty, but the technique slowly changed.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=39–41}} By the [[Song dynasty]], loose-leaf tea was developed and became popular. During the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] and [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] dynasties, unoxidized tea leaves were first stirred in a hot dry pan, then rolled and air-dried, a process that stops the [[Redox|oxidation]] process that would have turned the leaves dark, thereby allowing tea to remain green. In the 15th century, [[oolong]] tea, in which the leaves are allowed to partially oxidize before being heated in the pan, was developed.{{sfn|Benn|2015|p=42}} Western tastes, however, favoured the fully oxidized [[black tea]], and the leaves were allowed to oxidize further. [[Yellow tea]] was an accidental discovery in the production of green tea during the Ming dynasty, when apparently careless practices allowed the leaves to turn yellow, which yielded a different flavour.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=118}}

===Worldwide spread===
{{See also|Arabic tea|Korean tea|Tea in Australia|Tea in France}}
[[File:Gorskii 03992u.jpg|thumb|left|Tea-weighing station north of [[Batumi]], [[Russian Empire]], before 1915]]

Tea was first introduced to Western priests and merchants in China during the 16th century, at which time it was termed ''chá''.<ref name="caff">{{cite book |author1=Bennett Alan Weinberg |author2=Bonnie K. Bealer |title=The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YdpL2YCGLVYC&pg=PA63 |year=2001 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-92722-2 |page=63 |access-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427034134/https://books.google.com/books?id=YdpL2YCGLVYC&pg=PA63 |archive-date=27 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The earliest European reference to tea, written as ''chiai'', came from ''Delle navigationi e viaggi'' written by Venetian [[Giovanni Battista Ramusio|Giambattista Ramusio]] in 1545.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=165}} The first recorded shipment of tea by a European nation was in 1607 when the Dutch East India Company moved a cargo of tea from [[Macau|Macao]] to Java, then two years later, the Dutch bought the first assignment of tea which was from [[Hirado, Nagasaki|Hirado]] in Japan to be shipped to Europe.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=106}} Tea became a fashionable drink in [[The Hague]] in the Netherlands, and the Dutch introduced the drink to [[Germany]], [[France]], and across the Atlantic to [[New Amsterdam]] (New York).{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=169}}

In 1567, Russian people came in contact with tea when the [[Cossacks|Cossack]] [[Ataman]]s Petrov and Yalyshev visited China.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.apollotea.com/tea-articles/tea-history/15-russian-tea-history |title=Russian Tea History |website=www.apollotea.com |access-date=28 May 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806201927/https://www.apollotea.com/tea-articles/tea-history/15-russian-tea-history}}</ref> The Mongolian Khan donated to [[Tsar]] [[Michael of Russia|Michael I]] four [[pood]]s (65–70&nbsp;kg) of tea in 1638.<ref name="T">{{cite book |title=[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]] |publisher=Советская энциклопедия |year=1978 |pages=vol. 29, p. 11}}</ref> According to [[Jeremiah Curtin]],<ref>Jeremiah Curtin, ''A Journey to Southern Siberia'', 1909, chapter one</ref> it was possibly in 1636<ref>Basil Dymytryshyn, ''Russia's Conquest of Siberia: A Documentary Record'', 1985, volume one, document 48 (he was an envoy that year, but the tea may have been given on a later visit to the Khan)</ref> that Vassili Starkov was sent as envoy to the [[Altan Khan of the Khalkha|Altyn Khan]]. He was given 250 pounds of tea as a gift to the tsar. Starkov at first refused, seeing no use for a load of dead leaves, but the Khan insisted. Thus was tea introduced to Russia. In 1679, Russia concluded a treaty on regular tea supplies from China via [[camel train|camel caravan]] in exchange for furs. It is today considered the ''de facto'' national beverage.

[[File:This print of the Raymond Hugh Mckay Commander. The first vessel direct from China to Hull is published commemorative of her arrival on the 14th October 1843 RMG PW7733.jpg|thumb|The ''Raymond'', Hugh Mckay Commander. The first vessel direct from China to [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] on her arrival on 14 October 1843 with a cargo of tea.]]

The first record of tea in English came from a letter written by Richard Wickham, who ran an [[East India Company]] office in Japan, writing to a merchant in Macao requesting "the best sort of chaw" in 1615. [[Peter Mundy]], a traveller and merchant who came across tea in [[Fujian]] in 1637, wrote, "''chaa'' – only water with a kind of herb boyled in it".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lXYFBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT25 |title=Tea: A Very British Beverage |author=Paul Chrystal |year=2014 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=978-1-4456-3360-2 |access-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928000518/https://books.google.com/books?id=lXYFBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT25&lpg=PT25 |archive-date=28 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>''Peter Mundy Merchant Adventurer'', 2011, ed. R.E. Pritchard, Bodleian Libraries, Oxford</ref> Tea was sold in a coffee house in London in 1657, [[Samuel Pepys]] tasted tea in 1660, and [[Catherine of Braganza]] took the tea-drinking habit to the English court when she married [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] in 1662. Tea, however, was not widely consumed in the British Isles until the 18th century and remained expensive until the latter part of that period. English drinkers preferred to add sugar and milk to black tea, and black tea overtook green tea in popularity in the 1720s.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Tea |series=[[In Our Time (BBC Radio 4)|In Our Time]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004y24y |network=[[BBC Radio 4]] |airdate=29 April 2004 |access-date=7 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411023701/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004y24y |archive-date=11 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Tea smuggling during the 18th century led to the general public being able to afford and consume tea. The British government removed the tax on tea, thereby eliminating the smuggling trade, by 1785.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tea.co.uk/page.php?id=98#masses |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730000451/http://www.tea.co.uk/page.php?id=98 |archive-date=30 July 2009 |title=A Social History of the Nation's Favourite Drink |work=United Kingdom Tea Council}}</ref> In Britain and Ireland, tea was initially consumed as a luxury item on special occasions, such as religious festivals, wakes, and domestic work gatherings. The price of tea in Europe fell steadily during the 19th century, especially after Indian tea began to arrive in large quantities; by the late 19th century tea had become an everyday beverage for all levels of society.<ref name="Lysaght" /> The popularity of tea played a role in historical events – the [[Tea Act]] of 1773 provoked the [[Boston Tea Party]] that escalated into the [[American Revolution]]. The need to address the issue of British trade deficit because of the trade in tea resulted in the [[Opium Wars]]. The Qing [[Kangxi Emperor]] had banned foreign products from being sold in China, decreeing in 1685 that all goods bought from China must be paid for in silver coin or bullion.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Goldstone|first=Jack A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mOu_DQAAQBAJ&q=chinese+european+bullion&pg=PT365|title=Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World: Population Change and State Breakdown in England, France, Turkey, and China, 1600–1850; 25th Anniversary Edition|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-315-40860-6|language=en}}</ref> Traders from other nations then sought to find another product, in this case opium, to sell to China to earn back the silver they were required to pay for tea and other commodities. The subsequent attempts by the Chinese Government to curtail the trade in opium led to war.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China |last=Lovell |first=Julia|author-link=Julia Lovell |isbn=978-1-4472-0410-7 |year=2012 |publisher=Picador}}</ref>
[[File:MapTea-1907.jpg|alt=World map of tea exporters and importers, 1907|thumb|World map of tea exporters and importers, 1907]]
Chinese small-leaf-type tea was introduced into India in 1836 by the British in an attempt to break the Chinese monopoly on tea.<ref name="Sen" /> In 1841, [[Archibald Campbell (doctor)|Archibald Campbell]] brought seeds of [[Chinese tea]] from the [[Kumaon Kingdom|Kumaun]] region and experimented with planting tea in [[Darjeeling]]. The Alubari [[tea garden]] was opened in 1856, and [[Darjeeling tea]] began to be produced.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=214}} In 1848, [[Robert Fortune]] was sent by the [[East India Company]] on a mission to China to bring the tea plant back to Great Britain. He began his journey in high secrecy as his mission occurred in the lull between the [[First Opium War]] and the [[Second Opium War]].<ref name="Rose">{{cite book |author=Sarah Rose |title=For All the Tea in China |publisher=Penguin Books |pages=1–5, 89, 122, 197 |year=2010 |author-link=Sarah Rose}}</ref> The Chinese tea plants he brought back were introduced to the [[Himalayas]], though most did not survive. The British had discovered that a different variety of tea was endemic to [[Assam]] and the northeast region of India, which was then hybridized with Chinese small-leaf-type tea. Using Chinese planting and cultivation techniques, the British colonial government established a tea industry by offering land in Assam to any European who agreed to cultivate it for export.<ref name="Sen" /> Tea was originally consumed only by [[Anglo-Indians]]; however, it became widely popular in India in the 1950s because of a successful advertising campaign by the India Tea Board.<ref name="Sen">{{cite book |author=Colleen Taylor Sen|title=Food Culture in India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YIyV_5wrplMC&pg=PA26 |year=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-32487-1 |page=26 |quote=Ironically, it was the British who introduced tea drinking to India, initially to anglicized Indians. Tea did not become a mass drink there until the 1950s when the India Tea Board, faced with a surplus of low-grade tea, launched an advertising campaign to popularize it in the north, where the drink of choice was milk. |access-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424065113/https://books.google.com/books?id=YIyV_5wrplMC&pg=PA26 |archive-date=24 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The British introduced tea industry to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1867.<ref name="taylor-AU">{{cite web|url=http://www1.american.edu/ted/ceylon-tea.htm|title=TED Case Studies – Ceylon Tea|publisher=American University, Washington, DC|access-date=27 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223084443/http://www1.american.edu/ted/ceylon-tea.htm|archive-date=23 February 2015}}</ref>

== Chemical composition ==
{{See also|Phenolic content in tea}}

Physically speaking, tea has properties of both a [[solution (chemistry)|solution]] and a [[suspension (chemistry)|suspension]]. It is a solution of the water-soluble compounds extracted from the tea leaves, such as the polyphenols and amino acids. Tea infusions are among most consumed beverages globally.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yang|first1=Ziyin|last2=Baldermann|first2=Susanne|last3=Watanabe|first3=Naoharu|date=1 October 2013|title=Recent studies of the volatile compounds in tea|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096399691300104X|journal=Food Research International |series=Tea – from bushes to mugs: composition, stability and health aspects |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=585–599 |doi=10.1016/j.foodres.2013.02.011 |issn=0963-9969|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

[[Caffeine]] makes up about 3% of tea's dry weight, which translates to between 30 and 90 milligrams per {{convert|250|mL|usfloz|adj=on|frac=2}} cup depending on the type, brand,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Weinberg, Bennett Alan |author2=Bealer, Bonnie K. |name-list-style=amp |title=The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug |url=https://archive.org/details/worldofcaffeines00benn |url-access=registration  |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-92722-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldofcaffeines00benn/page/228 228]}}</ref> and brewing method.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hicks MB, Hsieh YP, Bell LN |title=Tea preparation and its influence on methylxanthine concentration |journal=Food Research International |volume=29 |issue=3–4 |pages=325–330 |year=1996 |doi=10.1016/0963-9969(96)00038-5 |url=http://www2.hcmuaf.edu.vn/data/lhquang/file/Tea1/Tea%20preparation%20and%20its%20influence%20on%20methylxanthine.pdf |access-date=13 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203132842/http://www2.hcmuaf.edu.vn/data/lhquang/file/Tea1/Tea%20preparation%20and%20its%20influence%20on%20methylxanthine.pdf |archive-date=3 February 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> A study found that the caffeine content of one gram of black tea ranged from 22 to 28&nbsp;mg, while the caffeine content of one gram of green tea ranged from 11 to 20&nbsp;mg, reflecting a significant difference.<ref>{{cite journal |pmc=3459493 |pmid=23055579 |doi=10.4103/0972-124X.99256 |volume=16 |issue=2 |title=Green tea: A boon for periodontal and general health |year=2012 |journal=Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology |pages=161–167 |vauthors=Chatterjee A, Saluja M, Agarwal G, Alam M |doi-access=free }}</ref> Tea contains small amounts of [[theobromine]] and [[theophylline]], which are [[xanthine]]s and [[stimulant]]s, similar to caffeine.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=1614995 |year=1992 |last1=Graham |first1=HN |title=Green tea composition, consumption, and polyphenol chemistry |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=334–350 |journal=Preventive Medicine |doi=10.1016/0091-7435(92)90041-f}}</ref>

[[File:TeaLeaves.JPG|thumb|Fresh tea leaves in various stages of growth]]

The [[Astringent|astringency]] in tea can be attributed to the presence of [[polyphenol]]s. These are the most abundant compounds in tea leaves, making up 30–40% of their composition.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Harbowy |first=ME |year=1997 |title=Tea Chemistry |journal=Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences |volume=16 |issue=5 |pages=415–480 |doi=10.1080/713608154}}</ref> Polyphenols in tea include [[flavonoid]]s, [[epigallocatechin gallate]] (EGCG), and other [[Flavan-3-ol|catechins]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ferruzzi |first1=MG |year=2010 |title=The influence of beverage composition on delivery of phenolic compounds from coffee and tea |journal=Physiol Behav |volume=100 |issue=1 |pages=33–41 |doi=10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.01.035 |pmid=20138903|s2cid=207373774 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Williamson G, Dionisi F, Renouf M |year=2011 |title=Flavanols from green tea and phenolic acids from coffee: critical quantitative evaluation of the pharmacokinetic data in humans after consumption of single doses of beverages |journal=Mol Nutr Food Res |volume=55 |issue=6 |pages=864–873 |pmid=21538847 |doi=10.1002/mnfr.201000631}}</ref> Although there has been preliminary [[clinical research]] on whether green or black teas may protect against various human diseases, there is no evidence that tea polyphenols have any effect on health or lowering disease risk.<ref name="nccih">{{cite web |url=https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/greentea |publisher=National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD |title=Green Tea |date=2014 |access-date=25 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402153347/https://nccih.nih.gov/health/greentea |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm073992.htm#gtea |title=Summary of Qualified Health Claims Subject to Enforcement Discretion:Green Tea and Cancer |publisher=Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services |date=October 2014 |access-date=25 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015104050/http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm073992.htm#gtea |archive-date=15 October 2014 }}</ref>

== Health effects ==
{{Main|Health effects of tea}}
Although health benefits have been assumed throughout the history of ''[[Camellia sinensis]]''[[Camellia sinensis|<nowiki/>'s]] 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.<ref name="medline">{{cite web |date=30 November 2017 |title=Black tea |url=https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/natural/997.html |access-date=27 February 2018 |publisher=MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine}}</ref><ref name="nccih" /> 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.<ref name="medline" />

Black and green teas contain no [[Nutrient|essential nutrients]] in significant amounts, with the exception of the [[Mineral (nutrient)|dietary mineral]] [[manganese]], at 0.5&nbsp;mg per cup or 26% of the [[Reference Daily Intake]] (RDI).<ref>{{cite web |date=2014 |title=Tea, brewed, prepared with tap water [black tea], one cup, USDA Nutrient Tables, SR-21 |url=http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beverages/3967/2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026201138/http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beverages/3967/2 |archive-date=26 October 2014 |access-date=25 October 2014 |publisher=Conde Nast}}</ref> [[Fluoride]] is sometimes present in tea; certain types of "brick tea", made from old leaves and stems, have the highest levels, enough to pose a health risk if much tea is drunk, which has been attributed to high levels of fluoride in soils, acidic soils, and long brewing.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Fung KF, Zhang ZQ, Wong JW, Wong MH |year=1999 |title=Fluoride contents in tea and soil from tea plantations and the release of fluoride into tea liquor during infusion |journal=Environmental Pollution |volume=104 |issue=2 |pages=197–205 |doi=10.1016/S0269-7491(98)00187-0}}</ref>

== Cultivation and harvesting ==
{{anchor|Cultivation and harvesting}}
{{multiple image
|image1 = 04 Zhejiang tea 05.1987 01.jpg
|caption1 =Tea harvesting in [[Zhejiang province]], China, May 1987
|image2 = SriLanka TeaHarvest (pixinn.net).jpg
|caption2 = Tea plantation workers in [[Tea production in Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]]
|total_width = 400 }}

''Camellia sinensis'' is an evergreen plant that grows mainly in [[Tropical climate|tropical]] and [[Subtropics|subtropical]] climates.<ref name="hort.purdue" /> Some varieties can tolerate [[oceanic climate]]s and are cultivated as far north as [[Cornwall]] in England,<ref>{{cite news |last=Levin |first=Angela |date=20 May 2013 |title=Welcome to Tregothnan, England's only tea estate |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10061426/Welcome-to-Tregothnan-Englands-only-tea-estate.html |access-date=5 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214014053/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10061426/Welcome-to-Tregothnan-Englands-only-tea-estate.html |archive-date=14 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Perthshire]] in Scotland,{{Cn|date=June 2025|reason=Previously cited article turned out to be unreliable. Appears to be some evidence this is still true, but not that would meet [[WP:RS]] standards.}} [[Washington (state)|Washington]] in the [[Tea production in the United States|United States]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Tea |url=http://69.93.14.225/wscpr/LibraryDocs/Tea2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810214327/http://69.93.14.225/wscpr/LibraryDocs/Tea2010.pdf |archive-date=10 August 2011 |work=The Compendium of Washington Agriculture |publisher=Washington State Commission on Pesticide Registration |year=2010 |access-date=26 April 2011 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->}}</ref> and [[Vancouver Island]] in Canada.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/05/tea-farm-on-vancouver-island-a-canadian-first/ |title=Tea farm on Vancouver Island, a Canadian first |newspaper=[[Vancouver Sun]] |date=5 May 2013 |access-date=26 May 2014 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527214442/http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/05/tea-farm-on-vancouver-island-a-canadian-first/ |archive-date=27 May 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the Southern Hemisphere, tea is grown as far south as [[Hobart]] in Tasmania<ref>{{cite news |url=http://prelive.themercury.com.au/article/2013/08/13/385535_tasmania-news.html |title=Tassie tea crop brewing |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)]] |date=13 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311120146/http://prelive.themercury.com.au/article/2013/08/13/385535_tasmania-news.html |archive-date=11 March 2014 |first=Jennifer |last=Crawley}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s2404570.htm |title=Episode 36 – Produce of Two Islands |series=[[The Cook and the Chef]] |number=36 |date=29 October 2008 |network=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC Australia]] |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |access-date=24 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215032023/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s2404570.htm |archive-date=15 February 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Waikato]] in New Zealand.<ref name=nzh-2013aug17>{{cite news |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/waikato-news/news/tea-growing-is-tough-going/XCPAATJPQKKS7QFZ64WFSV2ILI/ |title=Tea growing is tough going |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=17 August 2013 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |access-date=24 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222192713/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/waikato-news/news/tea-growing-is-tough-going/XCPAATJPQKKS7QFZ64WFSV2ILI/|archive-date=22 February 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>

Tea plants are propagated from seed and cuttings; about 4 to 12 years are needed for a plant to bear seed and about three years before a new plant is ready for harvesting.<ref name="hort.purdue">{{cite web |url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/camellia_sinensis.html |title=Camellia Sinensis |publisher=Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plants Products |access-date=26 October 2010 |date=3 July 1996 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924055240/http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Camellia_sinensis.html |archive-date=24 September 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to a [[hardiness zone|zone 8]] climate or warmer, tea plants require at least {{convert|1200|mm}} of rainfall per year and prefer [[Soil pH|acidic soils]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Camellias: A Practical Gardening Guide |last1=Rolfe |first1=Jim |first2=Yvonne |last2=Cave |name-list-style=amp |year=2003 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=978-0-88192-577-7}}</ref> Many high-quality tea plants are cultivated at elevations of up to {{convert|2000|m|ft}} above sea level. Though at these heights the plants grow more slowly, they acquire a better flavour.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tea Cuisine: A New Approach to Flavoring Contemporary and Traditional Dishes |last=Pruess |first=Joanna |year=2006 |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=978-1-59228-741-3}}</ref>

[[File:Mattupetty Lake View.jpg|thumb|400px|Tea plantations around [[Mattupetty Dam|Mattupetty lake]] near [[Munnar]], India]]

Two principal varieties are used: ''Camellia sinensis'' var. ''sinensis,'' which is used for most Chinese, Formosan and Japanese teas, and ''C. sinensis'' var. ''assamica,'' used in [[Pu'er tea|Pu-erh]] and most Indian teas (but not Darjeeling). Within these botanical varieties, many [[strain (biology)|strains]] and modern clonal varieties are known. Leaf size is the chief criterion for the classification of tea plants, with three primary classifications being:<ref name=Mondal /> [[Assam tea|Assam]] type, characterised by the largest leaves; China type, characterised by the smallest leaves; and Cambodian type, characterised by leaves of intermediate size. The Cambodian-type tea (''C. assamica'' subsp. ''lasiocaly'') was originally considered a type of Assam tea. However, later genetic work showed that it is a hybrid between Chinese small-leaf tea and Assam-type tea.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wambulwa |first1=M. C. |last2=Meegahakumbura |first2=M. K. |last3=Chalo |first3=R.|title=Nuclear microsatellites reveal the genetic architecture and breeding history of tea germplasm of East Africa |journal=Tree Genetics & Genomes |date=February 2016 |volume=12 |issue=1 |doi=10.1007/s11295-015-0963-x |s2cid=255132393 |url=https://www.academia.edu/28051971|url-access=registration|display-authors=etal |article-number=11 }}</ref> Darjeeling tea appears to be a hybrid between Chinese small-leaf tea and Assam-type large-leaf tea.<ref name="Meegahakumbura 2" />

[[File:2DU Kenya16 (5367334314).jpg|left|thumb|Women picking tea in [[Kenya]]]]

A tea plant will grow into a tree of up to {{cvt|16|m|ft}} if left undisturbed,<ref name="hort.purdue" /> but cultivated plants are generally pruned to waist height for ease of plucking. The short plants bear more new shoots which provide new and tender leaves and increase the quality of the tea.<ref name="Tea Cultivation">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/585098/tea |title=Tea production |access-date=1 June 2007 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |first=Campbell Ronald |last=Harler |date=26 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430063121/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/585098/tea |archive-date=30 April 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> Only the top {{convert|25|to|50|mm|0}} of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called 'flushes'.<ref>{{cite book |first=Elizabeth S. |last=Hayes |title=Spices and Herbs: Lore and Cookery |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=htsIVCwRsEcC |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-486-24026-8 |page=74}}</ref> A plant will grow a new flush every 7 to 15 days during the growing season. Leaves that are slow in development tend to produce better-flavoured teas.<ref name="hort.purdue" /> Several teas are available from specified flushes; for example, Darjeeling tea is available as first flush (at a premium price), second flush, monsoon and autumn. Assam second flush or "tippy" tea is considered superior to first flush, because of the gold tips that appear on the leaves.

[[File:Đồi chè Ô Quý Hồ.jpg|thumb|Tea plantation near [[Sa Pa]], [[Vietnam]]]]

Pests that can afflict tea plants include mosquito bugs, genus ''[[Helopeltis]]'', which are [[hemiptera|true bugs]] and not to be confused with [[mosquito|dipterous insects of family ''Culicidae'']] ('mosquitos'). Mosquito bugs can damage leaves both by sucking plant materials, and by the laying of eggs (oviposition) within the plant. Spraying with synthetic [[insecticide]]s may be deemed appropriate.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Somnath Roy |author2=Narayanannair Muraleedharan |author3=Ananda Mukhapadhyay |author4=Gautam Handique |date=24 April 2015 |title=The tea mosquito bug, Helopeltis theivora Waterhouse (Heteroptera: Miridae): its status, biology, ecology and management in tea plantations |journal=International Journal of Pest Management, 61:3 |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=179–197 |doi=10.1080/09670874.2015.1030002 |s2cid=83481846}}</ref> Other pests are Lepidopteran leaf feeders and various [[List of tea diseases|tea diseases]].

== Production ==

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+Tea production – 2022
|-
!  style="background:#ddf;"| Country
!  style="background:#ddf;"|Million<br /> tonnes
|-
| {{CHN}}||{{right|14.53}}
|-
| {{IND}}||{{right|5.97}}
|-
| {{flagicon|Kenya}} [[Tea production in Kenya|Kenya]]||{{right|2.33}}
|-
| {{flagicon|Sri Lanka}} [[Tea production in Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]]||{{right|1.40}}
|-
| {{TUR}}||{{right|1.30}}
|-
| {{VNM}}||{{right|1.12}}
|-
| {{IDN}}||{{right|0.60}}
|-
| {{BAN}}||{{right|0.44}}
|-
| {{ARG}}||{{right|0.36}}
|-
| {{UGA}}||{{right|0.33}}
|-
|'''World''' || style="text-align:right;"| '''29.76'''
|-
|colspan=2|<small>Source: [[UN Food and Agriculture Organization|(FAO)]]</small><ref name="faostat2024">{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC|title=Tea leaves production in 2022, Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity/Year (pick lists)|date=2024|publisher=UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT)|access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref>
|}

Tea is mainly grown in Asia and Africa, with smaller areas in South America and around the Black and Caspian Seas. The four biggest tea-producing countries are China, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka, together representing 81% of world tea production. Smaller hubs of production include such places as [[São Miguel Island, Azores]], in Portugal, and [[Guria]], in Georgia. In 2022, global production of tea was 29.8&nbsp;million [[tonne]]s, led by China with 49% and India with 20% of the world total. [[Kenya]], [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Turkey]] were secondary producers.<ref name="faostat2020">{{cite web |date=2020 |title=World tea production in 2019; Crops/World Regions/Production Quantity from picklists |url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC |access-date=17 May 2022 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Statistics Division (FAOSTAT)}}</ref>

=== Storage ===
Storage conditions determine the [[shelf life]] of tea;  black tea shelf life is greater than that of green teas. Some, such as flower teas, may last only a month or so. Others, such as pu-erh, improve with age. To remain fresh and prevent mold, tea needs to be stored away from heat, light, air, and moisture. Tea must be kept at room temperature in an air-tight container. Black tea in a bag within a sealed opaque canister may keep for two years. Green tea deteriorates more rapidly, usually in less than a year. Tightly rolled [[gunpowder tea]] leaves keep longer than the more open-leafed [[Chun Mee tea]].

Storage life for all teas can be extended by using [[desiccant]] or oxygen-absorbing packets, vacuum sealing, or refrigeration in air-tight containers (except green tea, where discrete use of refrigeration or freezing is recommended and temperature variation kept to a minimum).<ref>{{cite web |title=Green Tea Storage |url=http://www.o-cha.net/english/cup/pdf/29.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327174214/http://www.o-cha.net/english/cup/pdf/29.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2009 |access-date=15 July 2009}}</ref>

=== Processing and classification ===
{{Main|Tea processing}}

[[File:Tea in different grade of fermentation.jpg|thumb|Teas of different levels of oxidation (L to R): green, yellow, oolong, and black]]

Tea is divided into categories based on how it is processed.<ref name="LiuTong">{{cite book |author=Liu Tong |title=Chinese tea |publisher= China Intercontinental Press|location=Beijing|year=2005|page=137 |isbn=978-7-5085-0835-1}}</ref> At least six different types are produced:
* [[white tea|White]]: wilted and unoxidized;
* [[yellow tea|Yellow]]: unwilted and unoxidized but allowed to yellow;
* [[green tea|Green]]: unwilted and unoxidized;
* [[Oolong]]: wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized;
* [[Black tea|Black]]: wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized (called {{lang|zh|紅茶}} [''hóngchá''], "red tea" in Chinese and other East Asian tea culture);
* [[Fermented tea|Post-fermented (Dark)]]: green tea that has been allowed to ferment/compost (called [[Pu'er tea|''Pu'er'']] if from the Yunnan district of South-Western China or {{lang|zh|黑茶}} [''hēichá''] "black tea" in [[Chinese tea culture]]).

After picking, the leaves of ''C. sinensis'' soon begin to [[Wilting|wilt]] and [[Redox|oxidize]] unless immediately dried. An [[Food browning|enzymatic oxidation]] process triggered by the plant's intracellular [[enzyme]]s causes the leaves to turn progressively darker as their [[chlorophyll]] breaks down and tannins are released. This darkening is stopped at a predetermined stage by heating, which deactivates the enzymes responsible. In the production of black teas, halting by heating is carried out simultaneously with drying. Without careful moisture and temperature control during manufacture and packaging, growth of undesired molds and bacteria may make tea unfit for consumption.

=== Blending and additives ===
{{further|Tea blending and additives}}

[[File:Teaprocessing.svg|thumb|left|upright=3<!--size for readability of text in image-->|Common processing methods of tea leaves]]

After basic processing, teas may be altered through additional processing steps before being sold<ref>{{cite book |title=Tea: a user's guide |last=Tony |first=Gebely |isbn=978-0-9981030-0-6 |pages=Chapter 6 |oclc=965904874 |date=October 2016|publisher=Eggs and Toast Media, LLC }}</ref> and is often consumed with additions to the basic tea leaf and water added during preparation or drinking. Examples of additional processing steps that occur before tea is sold are blending, flavouring, scenting, and decaffeination of teas. Examples of additions added at the point of consumption include milk, sugar and lemon.

Tea blending is the combination of different teas together to achieve the final product. Such teas may combine others from the same cultivation area or several different ones. The aim is to obtain consistency, better taste, higher price, or some combination of the three.

Flavoured and scented teas are enhancements of the base tea. This can be accomplished through directly adding flavouring agents, such as [[ginger]], [[clove]]s, [[Lamiaceae|mint leaves]], [[cardamom]], [[bergamot orange|bergamot]] (found in [[Earl Grey tea|Earl Grey]]), [[vanilla]], and [[spearmint]]. Alternatively, because tea easily retains odours, it can be placed in proximity to an aromatic ingredient to absorb its aroma, as in traditional [[jasmine tea]].<ref>Gong, Wen. Lifestyle in China. 五洲传播出版社, 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2010, from [https://books.google.com/books?id=33DE2sJEjH0C&pg=PA85] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228102221/https://books.google.com/books?id=33DE2sJEjH0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA85|date=28 December 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Nice Cup of Tea.jpg|thumb|Black tea is often taken with milk.]]

The addition of milk to tea in Europe was first mentioned in 1680 by the epistolist [[Madame de Sévigné]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.briefguides.co.uk/content/tea.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822093059/http://www.briefguides.co.uk/content/tea.php |archive-date=22 August 2006 |title=Brief Guide to Tea |publisher=BriefGuides |year=2006 |access-date=7 November 2006}}</ref> Many teas are traditionally drunk with milk in cultures where dairy products are consumed. These include Indian [[masala chai]] and British tea blends. These teas tend to be very hearty varieties of black tea which can be tasted through the milk, such as Assams, or the East Friesian blend. Milk is thought to neutralise remaining tannins and reduce acidity.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Some tea and wine may cause cancer – tannin, found in tea and red wine, linked to esophageal cancer |journal=Nutrition Health Review |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-9164614 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119230843/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-9164614/some-tea-and-wine-may-cause-cancer |archive-date=19 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Way of Herbs |last=Tierra |first=Michael |year=1990 |publisher=Pocket Books |isbn=978-0-671-72403-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/wayofherbsfullyu00tier}}</ref> The [[Han Chinese]] do not usually drink milk with tea but the [[Manchu people|Manchus]] do, and the elite of the Qing Dynasty of the Chinese Empire continued to do so. [[Hong Kong-style milk tea]] is based on British habits. [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]] and other Himalayan peoples traditionally drink tea with milk or [[yak butter]] and salt. In Eastern European countries, and in Russia and Italy, tea is commonly served with lemon juice. In Poland, tea is traditionally served with a slice of lemon and is sweetened with either sugar or honey; tea with milk is called a ''bawarka'' ("[[Bavaria]]n style") in [[Polish language|Polish]] and is widely popular.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://glosbe.com/ |title=Bawarka in English, translation, Polish-English Dictionary |website=Glosbe |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224121219/https://glosbe.com/ |archive-date=24 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In Australia, tea with milk is known as "white tea".

The order of steps in preparing a cup of tea is a much-debated topic and can vary widely between cultures and individuals. Some say it is preferable to add the milk to the cup before the tea, as the high temperature of freshly brewed tea can denature the proteins found in fresh milk, similar to the change in taste of [[UHT]] milk, resulting in an inferior-tasting beverage.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3016342.stm |title=How to make a perfect cuppa |work=[[BBC News]] |date=25 June 2003 |access-date=28 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060722010957/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3016342.stm |archive-date=22 July 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> Others insist it is better to add the milk to the cup after the tea, as black tea is often brewed as close to boiling as possible. The addition of milk chills the beverage during the crucial brewing phase, if brewing in a cup rather than using a pot, meaning the delicate flavour of a good tea cannot be fully appreciated. By adding the milk afterwards, it is easier to dissolve sugar in the tea and to ensure the desired amount of milk is added, as the colour of the tea can be observed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2000/02/03/97177.htm |title=Biscuit Dunking Physics |first=Karl S. |last=Kruszelnicki |date=3 February 2000 |website=www.abc.net.au |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611155916/http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2000/02/03/97177.htm |archive-date=11 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Historically, the order of steps was taken as an indication of class: only those wealthy enough to afford good-quality porcelain would be confident of its being able to cope with being exposed to boiling water unadulterated with milk.<ref name="Dubrin2010">{{cite book |author=Dubrin, Beverly |title=Tea Culture: History, Traditions, Celebrations, Recipes & More |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WMcNCwcCPpgC&pg=PA24 |year=2010 |publisher=Charlesbridge Publishing |isbn=978-1-60734-363-9 |page=24 |access-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506052427/https://books.google.com/books?id=WMcNCwcCPpgC&pg=PA24 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Higher temperature difference means faster [[heat transfer]], so the earlier milk is added, the slower the drink cools. A 2007 study published in the ''European Heart Journal'' found certain [[Health effects of tea|beneficial effects of tea]] may be lost through the addition of milk.<ref name="Lorenz">{{cite journal |last1=Lorenz |first1=M. |last2=Jochmann |first2=N. |last3=Von Krosigk |first3=A. |last4=Martus |first4=P. |last5=Baumann |first5=G. |last6=Stangl |first6=K. |last7=Stangl |first7=V. |doi=10.1093/eurheartj/ehl442 |title=Addition of milk prevents vascular protective effects of tea |journal=European Heart Journal |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=219–223 |year=2006 |pmid=17213230 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Packaging ==

=== Tea bags ===
{{Main|Tea bag}}

[[File:Tea bags.jpg|thumb|Tea bags]]

In 1907, American tea merchant Thomas Sullivan began distributing samples of his tea in small bags of silk with a drawstring. Consumers noticed they could simply leave the tea in the bag and reuse it with fresh tea. However, the potential of this distribution and packaging method would not be fully realised until later. During World War II, tea was rationed in the United Kingdom. In 1953, after [[Rationing in the United Kingdom during and after World War II|rationing in the UK]] ended, [[Yorkshire]]-based tea manufacturer [[Tetley]] launched the tea bag in the UK, and it was an immediate success.

The "pyramid tea bag" (or sachet), introduced by Lipton<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lipton.com/en_en/jane-1,180.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430040636/http://www.lipton.com/en_en/jane-1%2C180.aspx |archive-date=30 April 2011 |title=Lipton Institute of Tea – Interview of Steve, Tea technology manager, Chapter: A Culture of Innovation |publisher=Lipton |year=2008 |access-date=26 June 2008 }}</ref> and PG Tips/Scottish Blend in 1996,<ref>{{cite web |title=PG Tips – About Us |url=http://www.pgtips.co.uk/aboutus/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070120162321/http://www.pgtips.co.uk/aboutus/|archive-date=20 January 2007 |access-date=17 February 2009 |work=pgtips.co.uk}}</ref> attempts to address one of the connoisseurs' arguments against paper tea bags by way of its three-dimensional [[tetrahedron]] shape, which allows more room for tea leaves to expand while steeping.<ref>{{Cite web|date=22 October 2011|title=Change brewing for reshaped tea market|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/change-brewing-for-reshaped-tea-market-1320676.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/change-brewing-for-reshaped-tea-market-1320676.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=17 February 2021|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref> However, some types of pyramid tea bags have been criticised as being environmentally unfriendly, since their synthetic material is not as biodegradable as loose tea leaves and paper tea bags.<ref>{{cite news |title=Most UK teabags not fully {{sic|biodeg|radeable|nolink=y}}, research reveals |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/02/teabags-biodegradeable |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=4 May 2012 |first=Rebecca |last=Smithers |date=2 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204105012/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/02/teabags-biodegradeable |archive-date=4 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Loose tea ===
[[File:English Westminster Tea.jpg|thumb|A blend of loose-leaf black teas]]

The tea leaves are packaged loosely in a canister, paper bag, or other container such as a [[tea chest]]. Some whole teas, such as rolled [[gunpowder tea]] leaves, which resist crumbling, are vacuum-packed for freshness in [[BoPET|aluminised packaging]] for storage and retail. The loose tea is individually measured for use, allowing for flexibility and flavour control at the expense of convenience. Strainers, [[Infuser|tea balls]], tea presses, filtered teapots, and infusion bags prevent loose leaves from floating in the tea and over-brewing. A traditional method uses a three-piece lidded teacup called a [[gaiwan]], the lid of which is tilted to decant the tea into a different cup for consumption.

=== Compressed tea ===
[[File:Xiaguan Te Ji Tuo Cha 2004.jpg|thumb|Sheng (raw) [[pu-erh]] ''[[tuo cha]]'', a type of compressed aged raw pu-erh]]

[[Tea brick]]s or compressed tea are produced for convenience in transport, storage, and ageing. It can usually be stored longer without spoilage than loose leaf tea. Compressed tea is prepared by loosening leaves from the cake using a small knife, and steeping the extracted pieces in water. During the Tang dynasty, as described by Lu Yu, compressed tea was ground into a powder, combined with hot water, and ladled into bowls, resulting in a "frothy" mixture.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=50}} In the [[Song dynasty]], the tea powder would instead be whisked with hot water in the bowl. Although no longer practiced in China today, the whisking method of preparing powdered tea was transmitted to Japan by [[Zen]] [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] monks, and is still used to prepare [[matcha]] in the [[Japanese tea ceremony]].{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=62}} Chinese [[Pu'er tea|pu-erh]] is often distributed in the form, as other teas may sometimes be.

Compressed tea was the most popular form of tea in China during the Tang dynasty.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=48}} By the beginning of the Ming dynasty, it had been displaced by loose-leaf tea.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=110}} It remains popular, however, in the Himalayan countries and Mongolian steppes. In Mongolia, tea bricks were ubiquitous enough to be used as a form of currency. Among Himalayan peoples, compressed tea is consumed by combining it with [[yak butter]] and salt to produce [[butter tea]].{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=124–36}}

=== Instant tea ===
{{Main|Instant tea}}

"Instant tea", similar to [[Freeze drying|freeze-dried]] [[instant coffee]] and an alternative to brewed tea, can be consumed either hot or cold. Instant tea was developed in the 1930s, with [[Nestlé]] introducing the first commercial product in 1946, while Redi-Tea debuted instant [[iced tea]] in 1953. Additives such as [[Masala chai|chai]], vanilla, honey or fruit, are popular, as is [[powdered milk]].

During the Second World War British and Canadian soldiers were issued an instant tea in their composite ration ("compo"<!--abbrev. of composite ration-->) packs. These blocks of instant tea, powdered milk, and sugar were not always well received. As Royal Canadian Artillery Gunner, George C Blackburn observed:

{{blockquote|But, unquestionably, the feature of Compo rations destined to be remembered beyond all others is Compo tea...Directions say to "sprinkle powder on heated water and bring to the boil, stirring well, three heaped teaspoons to one pint of water."

Every possible variation in the preparation of this tea was tried, but...it always ended up the same way. While still too hot to drink, it is a good-looking cup of strong tea. Even when it becomes just cool enough to be sipped gingerly, it is still a good-tasting cup of tea, if you like your tea strong and sweet. But let it cool enough to be quaffed and enjoyed, and your lips will be coated with a sticky scum that forms across the surface, which if left undisturbed will become a leathery membrane that can be wound around your finger and flipped away...<ref>{{cite book |last=Blackburn |first=George |title=The Guns of Normandy: A Soldier's Eye View, France 1944 |publisher=Random House Digital, Inc. |year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kL0hdkLlovgC&pg=PT93 |isbn=978-1-55199-462-8 |access-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424075208/https://books.google.com/books?id=kL0hdkLlovgC&pg=PT93 |archive-date=24 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

=== Bottled and canned tea ===
{{Main|Canned tea}}

Canned tea is sold prepared and ready to drink. It was introduced in 1981 in Japan. The first bottled tea was introduced by an Indonesian tea company, PT. Sinar Sosro in 1969 with the brand name Teh Botol Sosro (or Sosro bottled tea).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sosro.com/in/tehbotol-sosro |title=PT. Sinar Sosro |access-date=29 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080750/http://www.sosro.com/in/tehbotol-sosro |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> In 1983, Swiss-based Bischofszell Food Ltd. was the first company to bottle iced tea on an industrial scale.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bina.ch/cms/geschichte/?L=1 |title=Bischofszell Food Ltd |publisher=Bina.ch |access-date=25 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000057/http://www.bina.ch/cms/geschichte/?L=1 |archive-date=17 January 2013 }}</ref>

== Tea culture ==
{{Main|Tea culture}}
{{See also|American tea culture|Argentine tea culture|Azerbaijani tea culture|Brazilian tea culture|Dominican tea culture|Indian tea culture|Tea culture in Japan|Mexican tea culture|Russian tea culture|Senegalese tea culture}}
In many cultures, tea is consumed at elevated social events, such as the [[tea party]]. [[Tea ceremony|Tea ceremonies]] have arisen in different cultures, such as the [[Chinese tea culture|Chinese]] and [[Japanese tea ceremony|Japanese]] traditions, each of which employs certain techniques and ritualised protocol of brewing and serving tea for enjoyment in a refined setting. One form of Chinese tea ceremony is the [[Gongfu tea ceremony]], which typically uses small [[Yixing clay teapot]]s and oolong tea.

[[Tea in the United Kingdom|In the United Kingdom]], 63% of people drink tea daily.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/681635/tea-consumption-daily-amount-united-kingdom-uk/ |title=• UK: average cups of tea per day 2017 &#124; Statista |website=www.statista.com |access-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702043046/https://www.statista.com/statistics/681635/tea-consumption-daily-amount-united-kingdom-uk/ |archive-date=2 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is customary for a host to offer tea to guests soon after their arrival. Tea is consumed both at home and outside the home, often in cafés or [[teahouse|tea rooms]]. [[Tea (meal)#Afternoon tea|Afternoon tea]] with cakes on fine porcelain is a cultural stereotype. In southwest England, many cafés serve a [[cream tea]], consisting of scones, [[clotted cream]], and jam alongside a pot of tea.

[[File:Tea and Biscuits (30700190145).jpg|thumb|Tea being served in [[Karbala]], [[Iraq]]]]

Ireland, as of 2016, was the second-biggest per capita consumer of tea in the world, after Turkey.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/507950/global-per-capita-tea-consumption-by-country/|title=Annual per capita tea consumption worldwide as of 2016, by leading countries |website=Statista|date=14 January 2016}}</ref> Local blends are the most popular in Ireland, including [[Irish breakfast tea]], using Rwandan, Kenyan and Assam teas. The annual national average of tea consumption in Ireland is 2.7&nbsp;kg to 4&nbsp;kg per person. [[Tea culture#Ireland|Tea in Ireland]] is usually taken with milk or sugar and brewed longer for a stronger taste.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/why-we-get-a-better-cup-in-ireland-than-all-the-tea-in-china-1.1949600 |title=Why we get a better cup in Ireland than all the tea in China |last=Pope |first=Conor |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref>

[[Tea in Turkey|Turkish tea]] is an important part of [[Turkish cuisine|that country's cuisine]] and is the most commonly consumed hot drink, despite the country's long history with coffee. In 2004, Turkey produced 205,500 tonnes of tea (6.4% of the global total), which made it one of the largest tea markets in the world,<ref name="quantity">{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/105404/index.html|title=World tea production reaches new highs|work=fao.org|access-date=3 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428045119/http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/105404/index.html|archive-date=28 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> with 120,000 tons being consumed in Turkey and the rest being exported.<ref name="tea">''About Turkey: Geography, Economics, Politics, Religion and Culture'', Rashid and Resit Ergener, Pilgrims' Process, 2002, {{ISBN|0-9710609-6-7}}, p. 41</ref> In 2010, Turkey had the highest per capita consumption in the world at 2.7&nbsp;kg.<ref name="Indian Tea Industry Report">{{cite press release |url=http://agritrade.iift.ac.in/html/Training/ASEAN%20%E2%80%93%20India%20FTA%20%20Emerging%20Issues%20for%20Trade%20in%20Agriculture/Tea%20Export.pdf |title=Capacity Building Program on International Trade |publisher=Ministry of Agriculture |access-date=26 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611133413/http://agritrade.iift.ac.in/html/Training/ASEAN%20%E2%80%93%20India%20FTA%20%20Emerging%20Issues%20for%20Trade%20in%20Agriculture/Tea%20Export.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2014 }}</ref> As of 2013, the per-capita consumption of Turkish tea exceeds 10 cups per day and 13.8&nbsp;kg per year.<ref>{{cite news |title=En çok çay ve karpuz tüketiyoruz (in Turkish)/ We consume a lot of tea and watermelon |author=Turkish Statistical Institute |url=http://www.cnnturk.com/2013/ekonomi/genel/08/11/en.cok.cay.ve.karpuz.tuketiyoruz/719067.0/ |newspaper=[[CNN Türk]] |date=11 August 2013 |access-date=24 August 2013 |author-link=Turkish Statistical Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191721/http://www.cnnturk.com/2013/ekonomi/genel/08/11/en.cok.cay.ve.karpuz.tuketiyoruz/719067.0/ |archive-date=29 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Tea is grown mostly in [[Rize Province]] on the Black Sea coast.<ref>"tea"</ref>

[[File:South Indian tea seller.jpg|thumb|upright|left|South Indian woman preparing a cup of morning tea in the traditional South Indian way]]
[[Russian tea culture|Russia has a long, rich tea history]] dating to 1638 when tea was introduced to [[Michael I of Russia|Tsar Michael]]. Social gatherings were considered incomplete without tea, which was traditionally brewed in a [[samovar]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tea in Russia |url=https://www.alimentarium.org/en/knowledge/tea-russia |website=Alimentarium |access-date=3 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929103430/https://www.alimentarium.org/en/knowledge/tea-russia |archive-date=29 September 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In Pakistan, both black and green teas are popular and are known locally as ''sabz chai'' and ''[[kahwah]]'', respectively. The popular green tea is often served after every meal in the [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] belt of [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] and in [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]. In central and southern Punjab and the metropolitan Sindh region of Pakistan, tea with milk and sugar (sometimes with pistachios, cardamom, etc.), commonly referred to as ''chai'', is widely consumed. It is the most common beverage of households in the region. In the northern Pakistani regions of [[Chitral]] and [[Gilgit-Baltistan]], a salty, buttered [[Butter tea|Tibetan-style tea]] is consumed.

[[Indian tea culture]] is strong; the drink is the most popular hot beverage in the country. It is consumed daily<ref>{{Cite web|title=A majority of Indians think theirs is a tea-drinking nation|url=https://business.yougov.com/content/26569-majority-indians-think-theirs-tea-drinking-nation|access-date=3 August 2020|website=YouGov: What the world thinks|language=en-IN}}</ref> in almost all houses, offered to guests, 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.

[[File:Iranian tea.jpg|alt=tea in narrow waist glass|thumb|150px|Iranians usually drink tea with rock candy or ghand and in glass cups.]]

[[Iranian peoples|Iranians]] have one of the highest per capita rates of tea consumption in the world. ''Châikhânes'' ([[teahouse]]s) are common in Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 November 2018 |title=Persian Tea {{!}} Everything You Need to Know |url=http://www.persianfoodtours.com/persian-tea/ |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=Persian Food Tour |language=en-US}}</ref> Iranian tea is typically served in traditional Iranian glasses with a traditional saucer and teaspoon. Tea is  cultivated in [[northern Iran]] along the shores of the [[Caspian Sea]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Persian Tea |url=http://www.tdefilm.ir/News/www.tdefilm.ir |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=TDE }}{{dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

In Burma ([[Myanmar]]), tea is consumed not only as hot drinks, but also as [[sweet tea]] and green tea known locally as ''laphet-yay'' and ''laphet-yay-gyan'', respectively. Pickled tea leaves, known locally as ''[[lahpet]]'', are a national delicacy. Pickled tea is usually eaten with roasted sesame seeds, crispy fried beans, roasted peanuts and fried garlic chips.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xTk20rPq1dUC |title=Burma: Rivers of Flavor |first=Naomi |last=Duguid |isbn=978-1-57965-413-9 |year=2012|publisher=Artisan }}</ref>

In Mali, [[gunpowder tea]] is served in series of three, starting with the highest oxidisation or strongest, unsweetened tea, locally referred to as "strong like death", followed by a second serving, where the same tea leaves are boiled again with some sugar added ("pleasant as life"), and a third one, where the same tea leaves are boiled for the third time with yet more sugar added ("sweet as love"). Green tea is the central ingredient of a distinctly Malian custom, the "Grin", an informal social gathering that cuts across social and economic lines, starting in front of family compound gates in the afternoons and extending late into the night, and is widely popular in [[Bamako]] and other large urban areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Malian Tea Ceremony |url=https://www.virtualgreenteamuseum.de/malianteaceremony.php |website=Virtual Green Tea Museum |access-date=3 May 2024}}</ref>

In the United States, 80% of tea is consumed as [[iced tea]].<ref>"Tea". Modern Marvels television (program). The History Channel. Broadcast 15 October 2010.</ref> [[Sweet tea]] is native to the [[Southeastern United States|southeastern U.S.]] and is iconic in its cuisine due to its refreshing temperature and large amount of [[White sugar|sweetener]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://gpbnews.org/post/sweet-tea-history-nectar-south|title=Sweet Tea: A History of the 'Nectar Of The South'|last=Powers|first=Sean|access-date=14 March 2019|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129132033/http://www.gpbnews.org/post/sweet-tea-history-nectar-south|archive-date=29 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights=180 widths=180>
File:Turkish tea2.jpg|[[Turkish tea]] served in a typical small glass and corresponding plate
File:English teaware.jpg|English teaware
File:Iced Tea from flickr.jpg|upright=0.8|[[Iced tea]] with a slice of lemon
File:South Indian tea (5399611578).jpg|Indian [[masala chai|masala tea]]
File:Classic bubble tea.jpg|[[Bubble tea]]
File:Hibiscus tea.jpg|[[Hibiscus tea]]
File:Cha yen.JPG|[[Thai tea]]
</gallery>

== Economics ==

=== Producers and consumers ===
{{further|List of countries by tea consumption per capita}}

[[File:Tea factory, Pinglin.jpg|thumb|Tea factory in [[Taiwan]]]]

Tea is the most popular manufactured drink consumed in the world, equaling all others – including coffee, soft drinks, and alcohol&nbsp;– combined.<ref name="Macfarlane" /> Most tea consumed outside East Asia is produced on large plantations in the hilly regions of India and Sri Lanka and is destined to be sold to large businesses. Opposite this large-scale industrial production are many small "gardens," sometimes minuscule plantations, that produce highly sought-after teas prized by gourmets. These teas are both rare and expensive and can be compared to some of the most expensive wines in this respect.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

India is the world's largest tea-drinking nation,<ref name=Sanyal /> although the per capita consumption of tea remains a modest {{convert|750|g|oz}} per person every year. Turkey, with {{convert|2.5|kg|lboz}} of tea consumed per person per year, is the world's greatest per capita consumer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=208 |title=Turkey: Second biggest tea market in the world |date=13 May 2013 |access-date=25 November 2012 |author=Euromonitor International |work=Market Research World |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000057/http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=208 |archive-date=17 January 2013 }}</ref>

=== Certification ===
Several bodies independently certify the production of tea, such as [[Rainforest Alliance]], [[Fairtrade certification|Fairtrade]], [[UTZ Certified]], and [[Organic certification|Organic]]. From 2008 to 2016, sustainability standards-certified tea production experienced a compound annual growth rate of about 35%, accounting for at least 19% of overall tea production. In 2016, at least 1.15&nbsp;million tonnes of sustainably certified tea was produced, valued at US$2&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Voora, V., Bermudez, S., and Larrea, C.|date=2019|title=Global Market Report: Tea|url=https://www.iisd.org/ssi/commodities/tea-coverage/|website=State of Sustainability Initiatives}}</ref>

Rainforest Alliance certified tea is sold by [[Unilever]] brands [[Lipton]] and [[PG Tips]] in Western Europe, Australia and the U.S. Fairtrade certified tea is sold by a large number of suppliers around the world. UTZ Certified tea is sold by [[Pickwick tea]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unilever, the World's Largest Tea Company, Commits to Rainforest Alliance Certification |url=https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/press-releases/unilever/ |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=Rainforest Alliance |language=en-US}}</ref><!--
Before re-adding "Tea in popular culture" please see the talk page for discussion.
-->

== Issues ==
===Safety ===
Tests of commercially popular teas have detected residues of banned toxic [[pesticide]]s.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-unilever-china-quality-idUSBRE83N0AT20120424 |title=Greenpeace says finds tainted Lipton tea bags in China |last=Blanchard |first=Ben |date=24 April 2012 |newspaper=Reuters |location=Beijing |access-date=26 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402225630/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/24/us-unilever-china-quality-idUSBRE83N0AT20120424 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/pesticide-traces-in-some-tea-exceed-allowable-limits-1.2564624 |title=Pesticide traces in some tea exceed allowable limits |last=Griffith-Greene |first=Megar |date=8 March 2014 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=26 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317230357/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/pesticide-traces-in-some-tea-exceed-allowable-limits-1.2564624 |archive-date=17 March 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Fraud ===
Tea is a common target of [[food fraud]]. Lower cost ingredients may be substituted for tea, or a tea may be adulterated with undeclared and possibly toxic colors and flavours. The origin of the tea, picking season, and the processing techniques may be intentionally misidentified. Tea powders which undergo additional processing are more susceptible to food fraud.<ref name="Hellman">{{cite book |last1=Hellberg |first1=Rosalee S. |last2=Everstine |first2=Karen |last3=Sklare |first3=Steven A. |title=Food Fraud: A Global Threat with Public Health and Economic Consequences |date=30 November 2020 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-817243-8 |pages=143–145 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dZThDwAAQBAJ&q=%22weight+%22+%22food+fraud%22+china |language=en|chapter=Chapter 8. Coffee and Tea fraud}}</ref>

=== Labour ===
Tea production in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda uses [[child labour]], according to the [[U.S. Department of Labor]]'s ''[[List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor]].''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/|title=List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor|work=dol.gov|access-date=21 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319225451/https://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/|archive-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> Workers who pick and pack tea on plantations in developing countries can face harsh working conditions and may earn below the [[living wage]].<ref name="waronwant">{{cite web|url=http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/fighting-supermarket-power/tea-industry/inform/16999-a-bitter-cup|title=A Bitter Cup|publisher=[[War on Want]]|access-date=27 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919011759/http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/fighting-supermarket-power/tea-industry/inform/16999-a-bitter-cup|archive-date=19 September 2010}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Builder's tea]]
* [[Chaiwala]]
* [[Frederick John Horniman]]
* [[Indian Tea Association]]
* [[International Tea Day]]
* [[ISO 3103]], a standardized method for brewing tea
* [[List of tea companies]]
* [[Phenolic content in tea]]
* [[Ryukyuan tea ceremony]]
* [[Tea classics]], historical monographs of East Asian tea
* [[Tea leaf grading]]
* [[Tea pet]]
* [[Tea strainer]]
* [[Tea tasting]]
* [[Teasmade]]

; Other drinks:
* [[Burmese milk tea]]
* [[Butterfly pea flower tea]]
* [[Cannabis tea]]
* [[Chifir']], Russian extra-strong tea brew
* [[Herbal tea]]
* [[Kombucha]], a fermented tea drink
* [[List of Chinese teas]]
* [[List of hot beverages]]
* [[List of national drinks]]
* [[Maghrebi mint tea]]
* [[Mushroom tea]]
* [[Yaupon tea]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=Lysaght>{{cite journal |author=Lysaght, Patricia |title=When I makes Tea, I makes Tea: the case of Tea in Ireland |journal=Ulster Folklife |volume=33 |year=1987 |pages=48–49}}</ref>

<!-- Unused reference<ref name="Indrani Dutta">{{cite news |last=Dutta |first=Indrani |title=Tea production crosses 1 billion kg-mark| newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |page=12 |location=Chennai |date=26 January 2013 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/tea-production-crosses-1-billion-kgmark/article4345149.ece}}</ref> -->

<ref name="Mondal">{{cite book |last=Mondal |first=T. K. |year=2007 |contribution=Tea |editor-last=Pua |editor-first=E.C. |editor2-last=Davey |editor2-first=M.R. |title=Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry |location=Berlin |publisher=Springer |volume=60: Transgenic Crops V |pages=519–20 |isbn=978-3-540-49160-6}}</ref>

<ref name="Sanyal">{{cite news |last=Sanyal |first=Amitava |title=How India came to be the largest tea drinking nation |newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] |page=12 |location=New Delhi |date=13 April 2008 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1460940491.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611022230/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1460940491.html |archive-date=11 June 2014}}</ref>

<ref name="Yamamoto">{{cite book |last1=Yamamoto |first1=T |last2=Kim |first2=M |last3=Juneja |first3=L R |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-8493-4006-2 |title=Chemistry and Applications of Green Tea |publisher=[[CRC Press]] |page=4 |quote=For a long time, botanists have asserted the dualism of tea origin from their observations that there exist distinct differences in the morphological characteristics between Assamese varieties and Chinese varieties.{{nbsp}}... Hashimoto and Shimura reported that the differences in the morphological characteristics in tea plants are not necessarily the evidence of the dualism hypothesis from the researches using the statistical cluster analysis method. In recent investigations, it has also been made clear that both varieties have the same chromosome number (n=15) and can be easily hybridised with each other. In addition, various types of intermediate hybrids or spontaneous polyploids of tea plants have been found in a wide area extending over the regions mentioned above. These facts may prove that the place of origin of ''Camellia sinensis'' is in the area including the northern part of the Burma, Yunnan, and Sichuan districts of China.}}</ref>
}}

=== General sources ===
* {{cite book |last=Benn |first=James A. |title=Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XF17CAAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Hong Kong University Press]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-988-8208-73-9}}
* {{cite book |last1=Heiss |first1=Mary Lou |last2=Heiss |first2=Robert J. |title=The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofteacultur0000heis |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Ten Speed Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-58008-745-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Mair |first1=Victor H. |last2=Hoh |first2=Erling |title=The True History of Tea |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_TR_PQAACAAJ |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-500-25146-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Martin |first=Laura C. |title=Tea: The Drink that Changed the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJ2j_bX6WTUC&pg=PA8 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8048-3724-8 |ol=OL1956186W|oclc=1159227468|ref=Martin}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|wikt=tea|commons=Category:Tea|q=yes|b=Cookbook:Tea|voy=yes|d=Q6097|s=Category:Tea|species=Camellia sinensis|n=Category:Tea}}
{{Plant-based diets}}
{{Teas|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tea| ]]
[[Category:Chinese cuisine]]
[[Category:Crops originating from China]]
[[Category:Herbal and fungal stimulants]]
[[Category:Victorian cuisine]]
[[Category:Japanese cuisine]]