7 Interesting Facts About Tea

We know that many people around the world love to drink tea, but some may not know much about it. Here are some interesting facts about tea that you may not know:

• Did you know that tea was first introduced to Britain in the early 17th century? It was very expensive and only for the wealthy. King Charles II's wife, Catherine of Braganza, made tea drinking a ritual when she introduced it to the royal court.

• Tea was originally used for medicinal purposes such as detoxification and was often chewed rather than drunk.

• According to folklore, tea was first introduced when leaves from certain tea bushes fell into water that servants were boiling to purify it for Emperor Shen Nung to drink. He was a mythological Chinese deity in Chinese religion and revered as a mythical wise ruler of prehistoric China.

• Green tea is known as a superfood, which is a new term for a food that is packed with powerful nutrients. It is said that green tea can soothe sore throats, regulate blood sugar levels, and reduce the risk of heart disease.

• China is the world's largest tea consumer, thanks to its large population, but on a per capita basis, Turkey, Ireland, and the United Kingdom take the top three spots.

• China, Sri Lanka and Kenya export the most tea in the world, with the three countries together exporting around one million tons.

• In Tibet, people have been using butter to flavor their tea since before the 10th century. They did this for their diet, to increase the calorie content of the butter.