Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over
cured or fresh leaves of the Camellia sinensis, and evergreen shrub
(bush) native to East Asia. After water, it is the most widely consumed drink in the world. There
are many different types of tea; some, like Darjeeling and Chinese greens, have a cooling
slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have vastly different profiles that include
sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans primarily due to its
caffeine content.
Tea originated in the region encompassing today's Northeast India, north Myanmar,
Southwest China and Tibet, where it was used as a medicinal drink by the various ethnic groups in
the region.
An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century AD, in a medical text written by
Hua Tuo. It was popularized as a recreational drink during the Chinese Tang dynasty, and tea
drinking spread
to other East Asian countries. Portuguese priests and merchants introduced it to Europe during the
16th century. During the 17th century, drinking tea became fashionable among the English, who
started to
plant tea on a large scale in India. Combined, China and India supplied 62% of the world's tea in
2016.
The term herbal tea refers to drinks not made from Camellia sinensis: infusions of
fruit, leaves, or other parts of the plant, such as steeps of rosehip, chamomile, or rooibos. These
are sometimes
called tisanes or herbal infusions to prevent confusion with tea made from the tea plant.