Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. It has a cooling, slightly bitter, astringent flavour which many people enjoy.
Tea has been promoted for having a variety of positive health benefits, though generally these benefits have not been adequately demonstrated in humans.
The phrase "herbal tea" usually refers to infusions of fruit or herbs made without the tea plant, such as rosehip tea or chamomile tea. Alternative phrases for this are tisane or herbal infusion, both bearing an implied contrast with "tea" as it is construed here.
Read more about Tea: Cultivation and Harvesting, Processing and Classification, Blending and Additives, Content, Origin and History, Health Effects, The Word "tea", Tea Culture, Preparation, Economics, Storage, Gallery
Famous quotes containing the word tea:
“An old man drinks tea and reads the newspaper—forgetting age for a moment.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Poor Henry, he’s spending eternity wandering round and round a stately park and the fence is just too high for him to peep over and they’re having tea just too far away for him to hear what the countess is saying.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1966)
“When the tea is brought at five o’clock,
And all the neat curtains are drawn with care,
The little black cat with bright green eyes
Is suddenly purring there.”
—Harold Monro (1879–1932)