Herbal Blessing: TEA TRIVIA

January 31st is Trivia Day, so in addition to the “tea trivia” on the graphic, here is some unique information on tea:

Americans consume more than 2.2 billion gallons of tea each year
Experienced tea pickers collect up to 70 pounds of tea a day by hand
It takes years for tea to grow on land where lightning has struck or humans have lived
Tea manufactured in the same Factory at 3:00pm can taste totally different to teas manufactured at 12:00pm, even though the tea leaves could be from the same area and a similar tea bush
One tea bush will produce tea for at least 50 years
The most popular additions to tea are: honey; milk; sugar; lemon; milk and sugar; lemon and sugar; lemon and honey
Almost 70% of tea drinkers use milk when having a cup of tea
The word "tea" originated from the Chinese word tu. Today "tea" is almost a universal word that sounds similar in many different dialects and languages.
Forty to fifty kinds of tea are produced in China's Yunnan Province alone.
India is the largest producer and consumer of tea today, with over two million people employed in the industry. 50% of all tea produced in India is grown in Assam. It is the largest black tea producing region in the world.
Tea helps burn calories! People who drank five cups of tea each day, burned about 87 extra calories, both while drinking and throughout the day.
Tea is a naturally refreshing drink, and taken on its own, has no calories.
Although the tea tree can grow over 30 feet tall it is cut short like a bush so that leaves can be plucked easily when harvesting.
Tea is 2nd most consumed beverage on the planet. Water is 1st
It takes 5 years to train a tea taster
Of the approximately 2.5 million metric tons of dried tea manufactured, only 20% is green tea and less than 2% is oolong tea
Tipping as a response to prompt service was born in the tea gardens of England. A small wooden box was placed on each table in the garden. The box was inscribed "To Insure Prompt Service" or TIPS for short. A coin dropped in the box usually assured prompt tea service. And thus the custom of tipping was born
The fortunes of America's first three millionaires were made in the China trade. T.H. Perkins of Boston, Stephen Girard of Philadelphia, and John Jacob Astor of New York prospered by bringing tea directly to the colonies, bypassing the hugely wasteful and monopolistic East India Company
Tea was compressed into bricks and used as money in China until the 20th century
Tea can yield as many as 4-6 infusions from the same leaves – particularly oolong and green. Some later infusions even have the most interesting flavors – also a way to reduce caffeine
Tea is extremely absorbent and will absorb the aromas of whatever is around it
A tea plantation is always properly titled “a garden”