Tea is a delicious beverage that is enjoyed by many people around the world. Get ready to find out some seriously interesting tea statistics and facts that will make drinking your next cup even more enjoyable!
In this article, you’ll find general facts and stats on the delicious warm beverage, some information on consumption and production of tea, how much money tea is actually worth, a bit of tea trivia, and some history, to keep in mind.
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to dive into these stats and facts on the popular drink.
The Top 10 Facts about Tea
- The first time that tea was recorded in history, it was referred to as a medicinal beverage.
- According to a study by Harvard, people who consumed one or more cups of black tea every day were 44% less likely to have a heart attack.
- Rooibos tea is a South African red tea that contains many antioxidants.
- When tea is manufactured, the leaves are withered, rolled, fermented, and dried.
- Turkey consumes the most tea in the world, with everyone drinking an average of 6.96 lb (3.16 kg) of tea each year, according to tea statistics.
- In 2018, China produced an estimated 2.62 million metric tons of leaves for the delicious warm beverage.
- Revenue from tea is estimated to be around $231,043 million in the year 2020.
- Lipton Pure Leah was the highest-selling ready-to-drink brand of tea in the US in 2019.
- The most expensive tea you can buy is called golden tips and costs around $200 for a gram.
- The first stock of tea was brought to Europe from China by the Dutch East India Company in 1610.
General Tea Facts and Stats
1. Tea is the most popular warm beverage around the world.
(Statista)
In fact, it is consumed more than any other non-alcoholic drink aside from plain drinking water. Tea buyers really love their drink of choice.
2. The first time that tea was recorded in history, it was referred to as a medicinal beverage.
(Harvard School of Public Health)
This occurred in China during the 3rd Century AD when tea was known for its health properties.
3. Traditional teas are rich in caffeine and polyphenols.
(Harvard School of Public Health)
Tea nutrition facts say that it’s the polyphenols that give the tea its taste and scent. There are three types of polyphenols: flavonols, theaflavins, and catechins.
4. According to a study by Harvard, people who consumed one or more cups of black tea every day were 44% less likely to have a heart attack.
(Tea USA)
There are many studies that link the drinking of tea to having a healthier heart.
5. Consuming teas without calories can help in weight management efforts.
(Tea USA)
Tea facts on health show that the properties of tea have been linked to increased metabolism. This can help you lose weight or maintain a specific weight, depending on your consumption and goals.
6. 38% of people who consume tea prefer to drink herbal tea.
(Statista)
This was the result of a survey conducted in the United States in 2019.
7. Every type of true tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant leaves.
(Tea Class)
The different types of tea are made by making changes to the leaves, which is referred to as “processing.” According to tea facts, teas that don’t come from the Camellia sinensis plant aren’t really teas but are “infusions.”
8. Essentially, there are only five different types of teas.
(Tea Class)
These are white tea, green tea, oolong tea, black tea, and pu’erh tea. While these all have different tastes and properties, they are all made from the leaves of the same plant; they are simply processed differently.
9. You will find that herbal teas are not true teas.
(Food Network)
Herbal tea facts show that they are made by using dried or fresh seeds, plant barks, flowers, herbs, or roots, and steeping them in boiling water.
10. Rooibos tea is a South African red tea that contains many antioxidants.
(Medical News Today)
The flavorful tea is free from caffeine and is believed to have many different health benefits.
11. White tea is the least oxidized tea.
(Tea How)
On the other end of the spectrum, you will find black tea, which is the most oxidized tea you will find. This is one of the interesting black tea nutrition facts.
12. When tea is manufactured, the leaves are withered, rolled, fermented, and dried.
(Encyclopaedia Britannica)
This process is to make sure that the leaf is fully dried as well as to give the tea the chemical constituents that give it the flavor that is unique to each type of tea.
13. One cup of tea has 60 mg to around 90 mg of caffeine in it.
(Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Of all the solids in a tea leaf that’s fresh, around 4% of it is made up of caffeine.
World Tea Consumption Statistics and Production Stats
14. China produces the most tea in the world.
(Statista)
China is the tea capital of the world. India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia are the other top tea-producing countries in the world.
15. Turkey consumes the most tea in the world, with everyone drinking an average of 6.96 lb of tea each year.
(WorldAtlas)
According to tea consumption by country, Ireland consumes 4.83 lb (2.19 kg) of tea per person per year, and the United Kingdom consumes 4.28 lb (1.94 kg) per person per year.
16. In 2018, China produced an estimated 2.62 million metric tons of leaves for the delicious warm beverage.
(Statista)
This shows that the production of tea has increased in China because, in 2006, the amount of tea produced was only around 1.02 million metric tons.
17. Globally, around 5.2 million metric tons of tea were produced in 2015.
(Statista)
China produced around half of all the tea produced globally in that year alone.
18. Tea consumption by gender shows that women purchase more tea than their male counterparts.
(Tea USA)
Traditionally, women purchased around 53.2% of tea, and men purchased around 46.8% of tea. This shows that men drink tea less than women.
19. People drink around 1.42 million pounds of tea in the US every day.
(Tea How)
Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the country and is consumed more than most other non-alcoholic beverages, aside from water. The US tea market is huge.
Money and Tea Facts and Statistics
20. Revenue from tea is estimated to be around $231,043 million in the year 2020.
(Statista)
It is believed that the market will grow by 6.7% on a yearly basis from 2020 through to 2025. Most of the global tea revenue is made by China.
21. Lipton Pure Leah was the highest-selling ready-to-drink brand of tea in the US in 2019.
(Statista)
$718 million was made in sales of this specific brand during that year, showing that this is a very popular American tea, according to tea consumption statistics.
22. In 2018, the global tea market had a value of around $52 billion.
(Statista)
It was estimated at the time that the value of the tea market would rise to $81 billion by 2026.
23. In 2016, the ready-to-drink market for tea and coffee was around $75.25 billion.
(Grand View Research)
This shows that the popular ready-to-drink beverages, which are consumed daily by many people, are growing in demand and will likely continue to do so as the years go by.
Fun Facts About Tea
24. The most expensive tea you can buy is called golden tips and costs around $200 a gram.
(Inside Edition)
This is four times as expensive as buying gold. The tea comes from Sri Lanka and is only picked when the conditions allow for it. The tea leaves are then dried using a cloth made of velvet.
25. Tasseography is the name given to the reading of tea leaves.
(npr)
The term comes from the French word for cup (tasse) and ends with the Greek suffix for the writing (graph). When reading tea leaves, the practitioners of this mystical art look at patterns left by the tea leaves after a cup has been emptied of its contents.
History of Tea
26. Originally, tea was only for the elite in England.
(Royal Museums Greenwich)
When tea originally made its way to England in the 16th Century, it was extremely expensive and was only consumed by those who could afford it.
27. The first stock of tea was brought to Europe from China by the Dutch East India Company in 1610.
(Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Later, tea was grown in Ceylon and India by the British during colonization. Now, tea is a popular beverage in the United Kingdom and is consumed in great amounts, which is evident if you look at tea drinkers and their demographics.
28. Thomas Sullivan was the first to create tea bags in 1908 in the United States.
(Tea Answers)
He made little bags out of silk to hand over to customers for tea samples. Apparently, a few of the customers believed that the bags were intended to go straight in the pot, and that’s how it started. It’s strange to think that this is how the use of bags with tea leaves in them became something that we use today.
FAQs
How many people drink tea every day?
Even though it’s not the most popular drink in the world, statistics show that around 2 billion people drink tea all around the world. The tea market in the USA is huge, with around 1.42 million pounds of tea being consumed within the country on a daily basis. The most common tea in the US is black tea, which is enjoyed by a vast majority of people.
Which country consumes the most tea?
Turkey consumes the most amount of tea in the whole world. The people in Turkey drink around 9.96 lb, which works out to be around 3.16 kg of tea every year. The country that consumes the second-largest amount of tea is Ireland, where they drink about 4.83 lb, which works out to be around 2.19 kg of tea per year. The country that drinks the third-largest amount of tea is the United Kingdom. There, they drink around 4.28 lb, which works out to about 1.94 kg of tea per year.
How many cups of tea are drunk every day throughout the world?
Throughout the world, around 25,000 units of tea are drunk each second. That works out to around 2.16 billion units (or cups) of tea every single day. That’s a lot of tea, which isn’t really a surprise, given that tea is the second most popular non-alcoholic beverage next to plain drinking water. So next time you enjoy a nice cup of tea, remember that you’re probably not alone.
How much is the tea market worth?
Important tea trivia: the tea market worldwide was worth around $52 billion in the year 2018. The tea industry is huge, and it makes quite a bit of money throughout the world in trade and purchases.
Conclusion
At the beginning of the day, billions of people around the world enjoy a cup of delicious tea. The tea market is worth large sums of money, and there is even a tea that costs four times the price of gold. We hope you’ve enjoyed all these fascinating tea statistics and facts that we’ve gathered to keep you informed on the delicious beverage.
