World of tea

Tea is one of the oldest and most popular drinks in the world. Almost three million tons of tea is grown annually. There are currently around 3000 types of tea worldwide - from black or green tea to rooibos, fruit or herbal tea. Every single person consumes an average of 0,3 kilograms of tea per year. In terms of volume, a lot of tea is drunk, especially in India, China and Great Britain.

For black and green tea, leaves of the tea plant Camellia sinensis, are infused with hot water. In the main it is a hybrid of Camellia sinensis var, sinensis (China tea) and Camellia sinensis var, and Assamica (Assam tea) are used. The first one is considered to be more robust, whereas Assam tea is dependent on a high tropical humidity. Depending on the process, both types of black and green tea can be produced by it.

Tea was first mentioned in Chinese scriptures around 5000 years ago and in the third century BC there was a tea tax in China. The drink finally made its way to Europe at the beginning of the 17th century. The Dutch East India Company brought a shipment of green tea to the Netherlands for the first time in 1610. In 1644 the Dutch delivered the first 100 pounds of tea to England.

In the middle of the 17th century tea came from the Netherlands to Germany, initially to East Frisia, where an East Frisian tea culture developed. In 1743, the first tea shop in Germany was opened in Hanover, which at that time belonged to the British Crown, and it still exists today.

With a production of almost 1,5 million tons and 1 million tons respectively per year, China and India are the largest tea producers in the world. In China, tea is mainly grown in the south of the country. The green tea comes from the east Chinese provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian, the oolong tea from Fujian or Taiwan, the yellow tea from Hunan and the red tea from Sichuan and Yunnan. In India, Assam and Darjeeling are the most famous growing areas.