• Where can I obtain tea?
• How much tea is consumed around the world?
• When was tea first invented?
• What role has tea played in history?
• When was the first book about tea written?
• Where does tea come from?
• How do you pronounce "Camellia sinensis"?
• What kinds of different tea are there?
• What about other kinds of tea like "tisane"?
• So why do people seem to call so many different kinds of brews "tea"?
• How much caffeine does tea contain?
• Is tea fermented or oxidized? Does it contain any alcohol?
• When was the "tea bag" invented?
• When was the "teaspoon" invented?
• What is a Japanese tea ceremony?
• What is English "high tea"?
• What does "fair trade certified" tea mean?
• What does "scented and spiced tea" mean?
• What is "herbal tea?"
• What is "chai?"
• What is "red tea?"
• What is "yerba mate?"
• What is "ayurvedic tea?"
• What is "bubble tea?"

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Q: How much tea is consumed around the world?
A: Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, after water. The world's champion tea drinkers are the inhabitants of the oil principalities in the Persian Gulf with an average 3.5 cups of tea per person per day. The Irish come next with 3 cups per day, and the English and Chinese follow with 2.5 cups per day. Indians consume 2 cups a day.

Q: When was tea first invented?
A: As legend has it, one day in 2737 B.C. the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was boiling drinking water over an open fire, believing that those who drank boiled water were healthier. Some leaves from a nearby Camellia sinensis plant floated into the pot. The emperor drank the mixture and declared that it gave one "vigor of body, contentment of mind, and determination of purpose."

Q: What role has tea played in history?
A: Some highlights: The fundamental book of Taoism, the Tao Te Ching, written by Lao Tzu, came into being after the famous sage was stopped while traveling and offered a cup of tea. As a mark of his gratitude, Lao Tzu quit his wanderings, wrote the Tao Te Ching, and offered it as gift to the generous soul who gave him the tea.

In 1600, Elizabeth I founded the East India Company. During the next 300 years, it grew into the largest company in the world, and was the world's first large multinational company. It was instrumental in forging new trade routes and introducing new products and ideas among the nations of the world. Its principal product? Tea!

One of the most famous tea parties actually wasn't even a tea party. On December 16, 1773 a group of disgruntled American colonists carried out a tax revolt against England after it granted a monopoly to the East India Company by throwing 342 chests of heavily taxed tea into the chilly Boston harbor. This "Boston Tea Party" eventually led to the American War of Independence.

Q: When was the first book about tea written?
A: The Chinese "Book of Tea" was written in the eighth century A.D. by Lu-Yu and was the first book written about the virtues of drinking tea. Known as the "Emperor of Tea," Lu Yu was a Buddhist poet who dedicated his life to writing his masterpiece about tea. His work had a great influence on Taoist and Zen writings in the years following his death.

Q: Where does tea come from?
A: Traditionally, tea comes from the leaves and leaf buds of Camellia sinensis, a white-flowered evergreen shrub or small tree native to mainland South and Southeast Asia. Today, it is cultivated around the world in tropical and subtropical regions.

Q: How do you pronounce "Camellia sinensis"?
A: "Camellia sinensis" is actually a Latin name that scientists and botanists use to name the tea shrub.

"Camellia" is the scientific name for the genus of plants that Camellia sinensis belongs to. It is New Latin and is named after Georg Josef Kamel (1661-1706), a Moravian Jesuit missionary. It is pronounced kah-MEAL-yah  .

"Sinensis" means "of China," and is derived from "sinae" (Latin for "Chinese") and "ensis" (Latin for "belonging to"). It is pronounced seye-NEN-sis.

Q: What kinds of different tea are there?
A: Traditionally, tea comes in black, green, oolong and white flavors from the leaves and leaf buds of Camellia sinensis, a small evergreen shrub. The method of processing the leaf is what chiefly distinguishes the different kinds of teas. Black tea is oxidized the longest, and has the most caffeine. Oolong tea is semi-oxidized, and its robustness is somewhere between that of black and green teas. Green tea is only slightly oxidized, and white tea undergoes the least amount of processing. The highest levels of antioxidants are found in the minimally processed white and green teas. In addition, the Camellia sinensis shrub itself is cultivated in several different varieties, and certain varieties are better suited than others for a particular processing method or flavor of tea.

Q: What about other kinds of tea like "tisane"?
A: A tisane, ptisan or herbal "tea" is any herbal infusion other than from the leaves of the tea bush (Camellia sinensis). The English word "tisane" originated from the Greek word "ptisane," a drink made from pearl barley. It is pronounced ti-ZAN  .

Tisanes can be made with fresh or dried flowers, leaves, seeds or roots, generally by pouring boiling water over the plant parts and letting them steep for a few minutes. Seeds and roots can also be boiled on a stove. The tisane is then strained, sweetened if so desired, and served.

Q: So why do people seem to call so many different kinds of brews "tea"?
A: The narrower, more "proper" definitions say that tea is brewed from Camellia sinensis, and all other brews are called tisanes. With that in mind, Websters does offer a more broad definition of tea: "Any of various plants having leaves used to make a tealike beverage." So, that is why you will see so many other brewed beverages called tea, including many others you will find on this FAQ, such as herbal, red, ayurvedic and other "tea."

Q: How much caffeine does tea contain?
A: A serving of tea generally contains about 40 milligrams of caffeine (less than half as much caffeine as in coffee), but the actual levels vary depending on the specific blend and the strength of the brew. The unique thing about caffeine in tea is how it is balanced with an amino acid found only in tea called theanine. Theanine has been demonstrated to induce relaxation, lower stress and reduce anxiety.

Q: Is tea fermented or oxidized? Does it contain any alcohol?
A: Sometimes you will hear about tea being "fermented," and some wonder if "fermented" tea contains any alcohol. Tea is never fermented; rather, it is "oxidized" during processing. Since tea isn't fermented, it will never contain any alcohol.

Q: When was "iced tea" invented?
A: Iced tea debuted in 1904 at the Louisiana State Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Mo. According to the Tea Council, "The temperature was soaring and the staff in the Far East Tea House couldn't get any fair-goers to even look their way, let alone sample their tea. So they poured the hot tea over ice cubes and the drink quickly became the exposition's most popular beverage." America is unique in its tea consumption habits, the Tea Council says, in that approximately 40 billion of the 50 billion cups consumed here each year are over ice.

Q: When was the "tea bag" invented?
A: The tea bag was born the same year as iced tea, in 1904. A Boston tea merchant began sending samples of tea in small silk bags for customers to try. Eventually, the convenient pre-measured sacks came to dominate the tea market. In 1994, according to the Tea Council, approximately 60 percent of tea brewed in the United States was prepared from tea bags; just over 1 percent was brewed from loose tea. Iced tea mixes accounted for another 25 percent of prepared tea, and the rest was made from instant tea.

Q: When was the "teaspoon" invented?
A: The beginnings of the teaspoon are somewhat murky. The Oxford English Dictionary notes that the first written appearance of the word "teaspoon" was in a 1686 edition of the London Gazette, that included a listing for "Three small gilt Tea Spoons." The book Tea states that the teaspoon was invented in England for stirring sugar into tea. It notes that the teaspoon is bigger than a coffee spoon, so that a spoonful of sugar for tea contains about 20% more sugar than a spoonful of sugar for coffee. The English have an old saying, too, for measuring tea into a teapot: "One teaspoon of tea per cup, plus one for the pot." The teaspoon certainly has a long association with measuring things tea, so it must certainly have derived its name from such a function.

Q: What is a Japanese tea ceremony?
A: The Japanese tea ceremony is considered to be an art form that reflects the Zen spirit. In this ceremony, matcha (powdered green tea) is prepared and drunk. It is never sweetened.

Q: What is English "high tea"?
A: English high tea is the custom of taking tea with some kind of light meal that may include a sandwich, pastry, scone, fruit, etc. The emphasis is on presentation and conversation. The custom arose because of the English tradition of having late dinners. Anne, The Duchess of Bedford (1788-1861), used to complain of a sinking feeling in the late afternoon, and afternoon tea was a way to keep her going until dinner. She would invite friends over for tea and conversation, and the practice soon spread and became quite popular in her time and remains so today.

The English customarily prepare tea in a teapot, and pour it hot into a cup containing cold milk. The reason is because of the expensive parcelain crockery which would shatter if it came into direct contact with the hot tea.

Q: What does "fair trade certified" tea mean?
A: Fair Trade certification means that: The garden where the tea is grown meets specific standards for the wages, living situation, and working conditions of its pickers. It is a special partnership between tea pickers, tea traders and tea drinkers. For every tea purchase, a Fair Trade premium goes directly back to the tea workers themselves. A committee, elected by the workers, decides how these funds will be used to meet the community's most serious needs. Tea workers have used Fair Trade premiums to hire school teachers, build maternal health clinics, and bring electricity to their villages, among other projects.

Q: What does "scented and spiced tea" mean?
A: Scented and spiced teas are usually made from black tea. Scented teas have their scent more or less sprayed on and they can be flavored with just about anything -- peach, vanilla, cherry, etc. The spiced teas, on the other hand, usually contain pieces of spices -- examples include cinnamon, nutmeg, orange or lemon peel. A very famous and distinctive scented tea is Earl Grey, which is simply tea that includes oil extracted from the rind of the bergamot orange, a fragrant citrus fruit.

Q: What is "herbal tea?"
A: Herbal teas are made from leaves of other herbal plants. The FDA requires that herbal tea labels carry the name of the plant the product derives from, such as chamomile. Herbal teas can be made out of nearly any type of herb, and there are dozens of varieties available ranging from peppermint and spearmint to hibiscus and lavender to nettles and rose hips.

Q: What is "chai?"
A: Chai simply means "tea" in Hindi, and is pronounced cheye  . It is a common drink in India available on street corners, in offices and at home. The tea leaf is often blended with common Indian spices such as cardamom, cinnamon and ginger and boiled with milk and sugar.

Q: What is "red tea?"
A: Red tea comes from a member of the legume family, Aspalathus linearis, and is native to Africa. Commonly known as Rooibos (pronounced "roy-boss"), which is Afrikaans for "red bush," it is often referred to as "Red Tea" or "Red Bush Tea."

Q: What is "yerba mate?"
A: Yerba mate (pronounced "yare-ba mah-tay") comes from a shrub in the holly family Aquifoliaceae, and is native to South America. Like other teas, it is dried, chopped, and ground into a powderous mixture. Unlike other teas, mate is traditionally sipped from a hollow gourd, through a special metal straw (traditionally silver) called a bombilla (pronounced "bom-bee-ya").

Q: What is "ayurvedic tea?"
A: Ayurveda (pronounced "eye-yer-vay-dah") means "knowledge of life" in Sanskrit. It is the art of holistic living and the oldest (5000 years old) medicine system in practice today. These special herbal tea blends are intended to bring balance to the body based upon the individual's condition and their Ayurvedic constitution or dosha type.

Q: What is "bubble tea?"
A: Bubble tea is a mixture of iced or hot sweetened tea, milk, and often other flavorings. The distinctive characteristic of bubble tea is the black gummy balls made of tapioca, called "pearls" or "boba," that sit at the bottom of the cup, and are consumed through a very thick straw. Bubble tea is extremely popular in Asia, California, and Canada.