Today the British drink more tea than any other nation--an average of 4 kilos a head yearly,or 1,650 cups of tea a year.They drink it in bed in the morning, round the fire on winter afternoons and out in the morning,round the fire on winter afternoons and out in the garden on sunny summer days.In times of trouble the kettle is quickly put on,the tea is made and comforting cups of the warm brown liquid are passed round.
What exactly is tea?Basically it is a drink made from the dried leaves of a plant that only grows in hot countries. The dried first heard of tea in 1589,and first tested it in about 1950.For nearly two centuries all tea was imported from china, until in 1823 a tea plant was found growing naturally in India.Sixteen years later the first eight chests of india tea were sold in London,and today london's tea markets deal in tea in tea from india,Sri Lanka, and Africa more than from China.
In Britain tea is the drink that cheers--and that is cheap. But there's darker side to the "nice cup of tea".Life is far from cheerful for many of those who produce tea in other parts of the world.Many workers on tea estates suffer from poverty and poor food.
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