Apart from water, tea (Tee) is the most popular beverage in the entire world. While tea drinking has now truly gone global, there are some countries and regions of the world that have a particularly strong relationship with tea and tea culture. In the western world, the term tea is almost completely synonymous with the Camellia sinensis plant, however in other parts of the world there are many tea varieties that originate from other plants. The Camellia sinensis plant is said to have originated from southeast Asia, around the modern day lands of Burma, China, and Tibet. From this Asian origin, tea was introduced to over 52 countries, and has since spread all over the world.
The Chinese people have a strong tradition of tea drinking and tea ritual, and the province of Yunnan in China is seen by many as the birthplace of tea. The world’s first cultivated tea tree is said to have originated from China over 3200 years ago, although many people argue that the people of China have been drinking tea for much longer than that. It is through the Chinese export of tea that it has entered into the history of other nations, especially those in Europe who were affected by the proliferation of Asian trade in the 17th century. The people of Great Britain also have a strong tradition of tea culture, although it is nowhere near as long lived as that existing in China and other parts of the orient. Tea drinking was initially an expensive exercise in Great Britain, and was therefore linked to the ideas surrounding class and social standing.
Some of the other countries that have a strong tradition in tea include Japan, India, Korea, and Vietnam. All of these nations are located in a relatively similar geographical area of the planet, and it was not until the early 17th century that the Dutch East India Company brought tea to Europe on a large scale. Since its expansion to the rest of the world, tea production has begun in a few other regions such as Kenya and South America. The proliferation of tea and tea drinking culture around the world since the 17th century is one interesting benefit of British imperialism and modern globalisation, both of which have had the positive effect of making more tea available to more people than ever before.