Did you know that after water it is the number one most popular drink in the world? Read on to find out more! These are 25 crazy things you didn’t know about tea.
The eastern world has been drinking tea for nearly 5,000 years. The west has only been drinking it for 400.

Blocks of solid tea were used in Siberia as money up until the 1800s.

The United States invented tea bags in 1904. Some purists consider this the worst invention ever!

Ireland drinks the most tea in the world per capita. Britain is second.

It is the national drink in Iran and Afghanistan

There are over 1,500 different types of tea

China produces the most tea in the world and it is closely followed by India.

Ice tea is another invention of the United States although rumor has it that a British tea merchant invented it at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair.

85% of the tea consumed in the United States is iced tea

After water, tea is the most consumed beverage on Earth

The world's most expensive high tea meal is found at the Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong. It costs nearly $9,000 per couple.

Black tea accounts for 75% of tea consumed globally

When tea is served in China guests tap their fingers on the table several times to show their gratitude to the host

After the Boston Tea Party, tea lost popularity in the US. Today coffee is still more popular

Tea wasn't always popular in Britain. It arrived in 1657 but wasn't until the second half of the 18th century that it really took off.

Before that it was usually smuggled into England and sold in coffee houses only men were allowed to enter

Lipton is the world's best selling tea brand

South Carolina is the only US state with a major tea plantation

Supposedly the tanic acid in black tea can help remove warts

The tannins in tea have been linked to coagulation. Basically they stop bleeding!

The tea trade catalyzed interactions between the east and the west

Actually, we can thank tea for things like faster transport ships

Legend has it that the second emperor of China, Shen-Ning, discovered tea in 2737 BC when tea leaves blew into his boiling water

Most of the world's tea is grown in mountainous tropical regions
