World consumption of tea

Tea was brought to Japan from China in the 8th century by Zen, a kind of Buddhism, priests. Tea from leaves of Camellia sinensis, a plant of the Theaceae family, today is consumed by more than two thirds of the world’s population.

Since tea arrived in Europe from China and Japan in the 1600s, it has become the second most popular drink in the world, behind only water. It’s a $44 billion market, and world production tops 5 million tons.

According to Roy Morgan Research from 2016, one-in-two Australians drink at least one cup of tea a week. Women are more likely to be tea-drinkers than men. According to the Tea Association of the USA, the U.S. imported 288 million pounds of tea in 2016 at a cost of $12 billion, and brewed the stuff into 84 billion servings or about 3.8 billion gallons.

The tea plant is cultivated in more than 30 countries. Approximately 2.5 million metric tons of dried teas are produced annually. Production involves a series of drying and fermenting steps.

Green tea is consumed primarily in some Asian countries, such as Japan, Korea, China and India and a few countries in North Africa and Middle East. Black tea is consumed in some Asian countries and Western nations. Oolong tea is consumed southeastern China and Taiwan. Drinking tea offers health advantages, from reducing risk of depression to minimizing the likelihood of having a stroke.
World consumption of tea