A Brief History
Discover the ancient origins and fascinating history of tea!
In this section we address many interesting facts and statistics about tea, the beginnings of traditional tea customs, the paraphernalia used, and frequently asked questions about tea consumption.
There are some essential general facts about tea that everybody should know - we have listed a few below:
Tea breaks are a tradition that have been with us for approximately 200 years.
80% of office workers say they find out more about what's going on at work over a cup of tea than any other way. More recently, tea drinkers told us they catch up on social media, make phone calls and chat to colleagues during their tea break.
By the mid 18th c. tea replaced ale & gin as the drink of the masses to become Britain's most popular beverage.
Tea was created more than 5000 years ago in China.
Tea is a natural source of fluoride that can help protect against tooth decay.
The first book about tea was written by Lu Yu in 800 A.D
Tea firstly appeared in Europe thanks to Portuguese Jesuit Father Jasper de Cruz in 1560.
97.5% of tea purchased in the UK comes in tea bags.
Apart from tourism, tea is the biggest industrial activity in India.
57% add dairy milk, 10% add a plant milk, 27% add sugar and 12% use a low-calorie sweetener