Tea is a beverage prepared by pouring boiling water over dry processed tea leaves. It ranks as the most popular refreshing drink in more countries than any other beverage.

The annual worldwide production of dried tea totals about 53/4 billion pounds (2.6 billion kilograms). India has always played a dominant role in world tea production. Today, India produces over 11/2 billion pounds (720 million kilograms) each year. China is the second largest producer with over 11/4 billion pounds (600 million kilograms) annually. Other tea-producing countries include Indonesia, Kenya, and Sri Lanka.

The tea-producing countries themselves consume over one-half of the global tea crop. Britain imports the greatest amount of tea--about 400 million pounds (180 million kilograms) annually. On the average, about 7 pounds (3.2 kilograms) of tea are consumed per person each year in Britain. People in the United States consume about 3/4 pound (0.34 kilogram) of tea per person per year.

The tea plant grows in tropical and subtropical climates. The plant, an evergreen, grows quickly at low altitudes where the air is warm. The finest tea comes from elevations of 3,000 to 7,000 feet (900 to 2,100 meters). The plant grows more slowly in cool air, adding to its flavor.

Tea plants have small, white, sweet-smelling flowers. Each flower produces three seeds that look like hazelnuts. On a tea estate or in a tea garden where tea plants are grown commercially, workers plant the seeds in a nursery bed.

Another method of cultivating tea involves planting cuttings of tea plants with desirable qualities, such as high yield or special flavor, in the bed. About a year later, when the plants are about 8 inches (20 centimeters) high, they are transplanted to the field. About 3,000 tea plants grow on 1 acre (0.4 hectare) of land.

Wild tea plants grow as high as 30 feet (9 meters). But a commercial tea plant is pruned to keep it from 3 to 4 feet (91 to 120 centimeters) high. The plant matures in three to five years and produces a flush (growth of new shoots). Each shoot consists of several leaves and a bud. At lower altitudes, tea plants may grow a flush every week. At higher altitudes, a plant needs as long as two weeks to grow a flush. Tea plants produce no flushes in cold weather.

Workers called tea pluckers pick the flushes off the bush by hand. A plucker can harvest about 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of tea leaves a day, enough to make about 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) of manufactured tea.

Mechanical pluckers are common in countries with flat land. These devices are tractorlike machines that can harvest as much tea leaf as up to 100 manual pluckers. However, tea of higher quality is generally produced from leaves that have been hand-plucked.

According to legend, the use of tea was discovered by Emperor Shennong of China about 2737 B.C. The earliest known mention of tea appeared in Chinese literature of about A.D. 350. The custom of tea drinking spread to Japan around A.D. 600. The first shipment of tea to Europe was made in 1610 by Dutch traders who imported it from China and Japan. By 1650, the Dutch were importing tea into the American Colonies.

In 1657, the beverage was sold for the first time in coffee houses in England. Tea went on to become the national drink of Britain. In 1767, Britain placed a tax on the tea being used by the American colonists. Colonial resistance to the tax brought about the Boston Tea Party in 1773 and contributed to the American independence movement
The use of iced tea and tea bags began in the United States. Richard Blechynden, an Englishman trying to increase the use of tea in the United States, first served iced tea at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (also called the St. Louis World's Fair) in 1904. That same year, Thomas Sullivan, a New York City coffee and tea merchant, sent his customers samples of tea leaves in small silk bags instead of the usual tin containers. The customers began to order tea leaves in bags after finding that tea could be brewed easily with them. Instant tea was developed in the United States and first marketed in 1948.

Scientific classification
Teas make up the family Theaceae of the order Theales. The most important source of timber in the order Theales is the family Dipterocarpaceae. The tea genus is Camellia. The tea plant is classified as Camellia sinensis.
Tea is an aromatic stimulant, containing various polyphenols, essential oils, and caffeine. The concentration of caffeine in tea ranges from 2.5 to 4.5 percent, as contrasted to an average concentration of about 1.5 percent in coffee.