Tea

Overview

Tea is a beverage made from tea leaves steeped in hot water. It can be served hot or iced, and may be accompanied with honey, sugar, lemon, or milk.
 
The earliest recorded history of the drink come from the 10th century BC in China, where legend goes that Shennong was drinking a boiled cup of water, when some tea leaves fell into his drink. Curious, he took a sip and was delighted with the flavour. From there on, it spread as a medicine, and later was used as a stimulant.
 
These days, (at least in the West), tea is strongly associated with the United Kingdom, where it is seen as a national drink. It began to be imported in the 1660s and spread like wildfire across the nation. In the 21st century, the British are the second largest cosumers of tea, after the Chinese.
 
Tea also had strongly ingrained itself into the very culture of countries. Some notable examples are Afternoon Tea in the UK, and tea ceremonies in Asia.