After water, tea is the world’s most popular beverage. It is estimated that in excess of 750 million litres of tea are consumed around the world each day and in Australia more than 22 million cups of tea are drunk daily. All of the 3000 varieties of tea around the world are made from the Camellia sinensis plant. The varieties derive from the locations in which the plants are grown, some additives (such as bergamot to make Earl Grey) and differences in processing. It is important to note that herbal teas are not included in that 3000 figure and that they are made from entirely different plants. Herbal teas are made from plants such as chamomile, peppermint and ginger (plus hundreds of others) where the flowers, leaves or roots are dried and then extracted to make the hot drink. Herbal teas are lovely and healing (sometimes) and lend themselves to all sorts of combinations but they are not what we are talking about here. In this article, we are referring to the tea that originated in China dating back thousands of years and which acclaimed novelist George Orwell called “one of the mainstays of civilisation”.
The common belief is that tea (from Camellia sinensis) is quite a healthy drink — but is that an accurate perception or just something we want to believe?
Tea types
There are three basic varieties of tea. Black tea is made using fermentation that arises
