Before we get onto tea facts, we should state the obvious: It’s a scientific, empirical, inarguable fact that everybody on the face of the planet loves a good cup of tea – any evidence to the contrary is an out and out lie.
That said, tea has quickly become one of many modern dietary staples that we take for granted, without really knowing much about it or where it came from. So, let’s dive into a series of 25 interesting tea facts about that wonderful cup of goodness you’re sipping on!
The modern teabag is actually American
Although tea, itself, is widely believed to have originated in China – the humble teabag that we all know today was actually invented by an American… by accident.
Thomas Sullivan packaged tea samples for his customers by wrapping the leaves in small, silk bags.
However, some customers didn’t realize that the leaves were then supposed to be emptied out, and instead simply dunked the bag into the water and voila! The teabag was born.
Funny how some of the best things in life came about by a happy accident – like chocolate chip cookies, potato chips and fireworks.
It can, supposedly, spell out the future
Tea is delicious, healthy…and clairvoyant?
In ancient Asia, and indeed in some contemporary cultures still; it was widely believed that tea leaves, when infused with a small amount of water, could allow a skilled ‘tea leaf reader’ to tell the future.
Monkeys, tea leaves, and monks – oh my!
Here’s something your tea leaves won’t tell you – in China, monkeys once picked the choicest tea leaves.
Legend has it that monkeys were trained by monks to pick the best leaves from wild tea trees growing in the Wuyi Moutains of China’s Fujian province. This tea was enjoyed exclusively by the Imperial Court.
Nowadays, the term ‘monkey picked tea’ is used to refer to a high-grade Tie Guan Yin (Chinese oolong) tea. But no, the stuff you’ll get was not picked by monkeys.
The oldest tea tree outdates the modern calendar
We all know that tea is an infusion of dried plant and flower leaves from special species of tree, but did you know that the world’s oldest tea tree is over 3,200 years old?
Fittingly, this ancient tree is situated in southwestern China, in the Yunnan province.
There’s a reason we associate tea drinking with Britishness
The old British stereotype always seems to incorporate an aristocratic tea-drinking gentleman, which may seem tired by today’s cultural standards but does actually have some relevancy.
The British love for tea drinking struck up in the 18th century when the British East India Company had, basically, full control over tea imports, which lasted until around the 1830s.
The British adoration continues to this day
Here’s one of those tea facts that pretty much everyone can guess. It’s estimated that around 165 million cups of tea are ingested in the United Kingdom… per day.
But you’ll never guess which country is the biggest tea drinker…
That’s right, even with the UK’s 62 billion cups per year; it’s not the biggest consumer of the stuff.
Some reports state the country with the highest tea drunk per person is actually Turkey, whereas others suggest Ireland is the front-runner. The latter may be the winner – supposedly, 75% of the Irish population drink 6 cup of tea per day!
And to think they’ve managed to fly under the radar with their tea fetish…
Climates may play a part in our tea drinking habits
Whereas in the United Kingdom, you’re likely to be served a warm, milky cup of breakfast tea (other types are, of course, available); in the United States an estimated 85% of consumed tea is actually iced tea.
It’s worth noting that the UK is predominantly a cold, blustery and wet country, whereas Americans are much more likely to want something cool and refreshing for the warmer climate.
The majority of common tea comes from the same plant
The four most popular types of tea (black, green, white and ‘oolong’ tea) all come from the same plant; the Camellia Sinensis. The different tastes and styles are all down to how the leaves of the plant are treated.
Tea was thought to have been discovered by accident
Serendipity seems to be a running theme in the history of tea. First the teabag, now tea itself: legend has it that Chinese Emperor Shen Nung first discovered tea when a leaf fluttered into his bowl of warm water, back in the 2700s BCE.
Iced tea was first served during a heatwave
Nowadays, iced tea is massively popular around the world – but it was originally created by an English tea merchant (Richard Blechynden), who decided to serve tea over ice during a heatwave at the St. Louis World’s Fair.
India is a titan of the tea industry
Second after tourism, tea production and exporting is India’s largest commercial industry, with Indian tea being the most common form of the beverage consumed across the globe.
Supply had to get… creative to meet demand
Back when tea was first becoming a hugely valuable export, the global demand quickly stretched far beyond what the suppliers of the time could manage. This often led to many disgusting and, frankly, dangerous additions to pad out the tea that was available.
Ingredients like ground up twigs, non-tea plant leaves, sawdust and even traces of iron fillings were sometimes used to create something approximating tea in order to meet delivery demands.
The tea lifestyle is a dangerous one
Here’s one of the most little known tea facts out there – after all, tea is widely regarded as one of the healthiest drinks in the world. Back in 1999, official records showed that there had been around thirty-seven separate incidents of injury involving tea-cosies in the UK. No guts, no glory.
It’s the second most common drink in the world
Water is, naturally, listed as the most common and widely consumed beverage in the world, with tea running close behind as a runner up.
Producing tea is a lengthy ordeal
It can take anywhere from four to twelve years for a tea plant to begin producing its seeds, and then another three years or more before the plant is ready for harvest – quite a daunting amount of time when you consider how much tea is produced, worldwide.
The varieties are nearly endless
It’s believed that there are around 1,500 different varieties of tea available today, and the UK imports nearly 140 thousand tonnes per year.
Different types boast a wealth of health benefits
Throughout the diverse strains and flavors of tea, there are numerous health benefits.
For example, Camomile tea has long been used for aiding restlessness and insomnia, as well as reducing anxiety.
Ginger tea has historically been thought to combat the common cold and its symptoms, as well as warding off morning sickness in pregnant women.
Chrysanthemum tea, which is hugely popular in Korea and China, is also believed to help reduce the symptoms of fevers and headaches.
There’s a whole world of healthy teas out there!
Although tea purists may argue otherwise
Some tea-elitists (if there is such a thing) may argue that these herbal teas aren’t actually tea at all – as they don’t contain the Camellia Sinensis plant, and are instead simple infusions of herbs, roots, leaves etc.
Tea requires height to grow
Tea plants need very specific conditions to grow and produce their leaves – usually this means being planted high up in exotic mountainous regions in countries such as Argentina, India, China and Indonesia.
It can serve as a natural mosquito repellent
Tea leaves aren’t just fantastic ingredients, they can also be used to ward off pesky mosquitos and other annoying insects.
The American Tea Party gets its name from tea history
The Tea Party is renowned throughout America as campaigning for less government control and state intervention over key social areas.
The ‘tea party’ name stems from the Boston Tea Party – which refers to a rebellious moment in the 1700s when American locals protested against the British government (near unstoppable colonialists at the time) and cast their imported tea into the Boston harbor.
Milk first or tea first?
It’s a question that can cause heated arguments in even the most docile of English homes, but the question of whether to pour the tea or the milk into a mug first is actually historically important.
In ancient Chinese culture, the milk was often poured first so as to protect the delicate mugs from the scalding hot tea. Nowadays, though, it’s all a matter of preference.
Tea used to be a form of currency
Here’s a tea fact that you may already be familiar with.
Once again we look to ancient China, where tea was once used as an actual form of currency. Leaves were compacted into a brick shape and traded for other goods and produce.
Slurping can be good…sometimes
The next time somebody criticizes you for slurping your tea, remind them that some types of Pu-erh tea are actually supposed to be slurped, as it aerates the tea and boosts the flavours.
A little tea goes a long way
Approximately 200 cups of tea can be brewed from a mere pound, in weight, of loose tea leaves!