Tea is an aromatic beverage made by pouring hot water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia Sinensis commonly know as tea plant. After plain water tea is the most consumed drink in the world.
Native to East Asia, this evergreen shrub traces its origin in the borderlands of south western China, north eastern India, and northern Myanmar.
During the 17th century tea drinking became fashionable among the British who later planted it on a large scale in India, where it was used only as a medicine.
Tea flavors range from cooling, bitter and astringent, to sweet, nutty, floral, and grassy. Tea like coffee has caffeine a stimulant.
Tea also has tannin, a polyphenol, which is what you leaves you with a bitter astringent taste in your mouth.
Nearly all the names for tea worldwide come from three words. te, cha, and chai.
George Orwell wrote a poignant essay on tea brewing titled "How to make a cup of tea".