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Tea is old. It is older than coffee and about the same age as beer as a beverage. According to legend, it was discovered when a leaf, from the tree a Chinese emperor was sitting beneath, fell into the water a servant was boiling for him. That leaf fell from a wild tea tree. Eventually tea became the national drink of the Chinese and the rest, as they say, is history.

Additionally, tea is a very popular drink even if it is not yet number one in the U.S. The FAO of the UN lists the production in 2006 of tea at approximately 3.6 million tonnes. Considering how little tea it takes to actually make a cup, about an ounce depending upon the type, there is plenty to go around for all the tea lovers of the world.

Do you need to worry about the caffeine in your tea? Most teas have less than coffee but it does still contain caffeine and varies from about 8 to 110 mg per cup. As you can see that is a wide range. Where your cup of tea will fall depends upon mostly the type of tea and how long it is steeped.

Drinking tea will also provide you with some health benefits. While drinking, you are ingesting antioxidants which have been shown to protect people from Alzheimer’s disease per the Phytotherapy Research magazine. You are also getting minerals which are essential for growing bones and homeostasis of the body. This doesn’t even count what the vitamins do for you.

It doesn’t matter to most people what the history or economics or health benefits of tea are. They simply drink it because it is a great, flavorful beverage. It’s a good way to start a day or wind one down.

Tea drinking has been the focus for several social ceremonies and social commentaries over the years. The Japanese tea ceremony and the English afternoon tea are two examples of the social events that have arisen from the drinking of tea, though one could argue strongly that the Japanese tea ceremony is a spiritual ceremony that involves many aspects of Japanese life.

Even though East and West can seldom agree on anything, one thing we all do agree upon is that wonderful cup of tea. It is savored both in the northern and southern hemispheres of the world and is the center of many social gatherings all around the world. It is even way of life in some places.

You can brew your tea in a clay pot or a floral Staffordshire teapot. You can use tea bags or loose tea. You can serve it in glass cups or the finest china., But one thing the many, many people around the world who drink tea know. Tea is irresistible.