---
title: "69 Interesting Facts About Tea"
url: https://www.kickassfacts.com/69-interesting-tea-facts/
date: 2017-02-02
modified: 2017-02-02
lang: en
author: "jazz"
description: "Here are 69 interesting Tea facts. 1-5 Tea Facts 1. Southern sweet tea was originally used to show wealth, as tea, ice, and sugar were all very expensive at the..."
categories:
  - "Animals & Plants"
  - "Fact List"
image: https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tea.png
word_count: 2084
---

# 69 Interesting Facts About Tea

Here are 69 interesting Tea facts.

## 1-5 Tea Facts

[![Southern sweet tea](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Southern-sweet-tea.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Southern-sweet-tea.png)[
](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/cup_of_tea_featured-image.png)

1. Southern sweet tea was originally used to show wealth, as tea, ice, and [sugar](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-interesting-facts-about-sugar-sweeteners/) were all very expensive at the time. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_tea#History)

2. Saloop, a drink of ground orchid tubers, was a popular 18th century alternative to tea until it became rumored to cure venereal disease. After that drinking it in public became shameful. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saloop)

3. International Tea Day is observed annually on December 15. - [Source](https://artsakhpress.am/eng/news/58080/december-15-is-international-tea-day.html)

4. In 1848, the British East India Company sent Botanist Robert Fortune on a trip to China's interior, an area forbidden to foreigners to steal tea seeds from China to [India](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-india-part-2-of-2/). He succeeded and within his lifetime, India surpassed [China](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-china/) as the world's largest tea grower. - [Source](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-british-tea-heist-9866709/?no-ist=)

5. White, green, oolong and black teas come from the leaves of the same tea plant species. - [Source](http://theteaspot.com/about-tea.html)

## 6-10 Tea Facts

[![Image credit: en.wikipedia.org](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Tea-brick-en.wikipedia.org_.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Tea-brick-en.wikipedia.org_.jpg)Image credit: en.wikipedia.org

6. Until [World War II](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-world-war-2-part-4/), tea was still used as a form of currency in Siberia. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_brick#Use_as_currency)

7. Tea parties weren’t invented until the 1830s; which means the 1773 Boston Tea Party wasn’t known by that name until more than 60 years after the event. At the time it was referred to as “the destruction of the Tea”. - [Source](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11674844)

8. British [tanks](https://www.kickassfacts.com/top-ten-military-tanks/) are required to have a tea brewing station. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_2#Crew_and_accommodation)

9. Meth is offered as casually as a cup of tea in [North Korea](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-north-korea/). There is little stigma attached to meth use - some take it to treat colds or boost their energy; students take it to work late. The drug also helps curb appetites in a country where food is scarce. - [Source](http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/27/world/la-fg-north-korea-meth-20140127)

10. One 32oz [McDonald's](https://www.kickassfacts.com/50-amazing-mcdonalds-facts/) sweet tea had as much sugar as 2.5 Snickers bars! - [Source](http://www.energyfiend.com/caffeine-content/mcdonalds-sweet-iced-tea)

## 11-15 Tea Facts

[![da_hong_pao](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/da_hong_pao-1.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/da_hong_pao-1.png)

11. There is a tea named Da Hong Pao which costs $1,025,000 per kilogram. - [Source](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Hong_Pao)

12. Tea drinking accounts for a high proportion of aluminum in the [human](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-humans/) diet. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_tea#Aluminum.2C_iron_and_other_metals)

13. In the 1800's the British actively pushed addictive Opium on the Chinese population to balance a trade deficit. China would only trade silver for tea and silk and the Brits were going broke. - [Source](https://www.britannica.com/topic/opium-trade)

14. It’s argued that the spread of caffeinated beverages in the 17th century made the Industrial Revolution possible by allowing large numbers of people to coordinate their work schedules and work longer hours. Before tea was widely available, [beer](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-beer/) was the European breakfast drink of choice. - [Source](http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0501/feature1/)

15. The [plant](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-plants/) colloquially referred to as Mormon tea consumed by early Mormon Pioneers contains ephedra, a stimulant more powerful than caffeine. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephedra)

## 16-20 Tea Facts

[![green-tea](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/green-tea.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/green-tea.png)

16. Green tea can improve your cognitive function, in particular, the working memory.  - [Source](http://www.parentherald.com/articles/4435/20140409/green-tea-can-improve-your-memory.htm)

17. Tea was discovered by accident in 2737 B.C. when dried leaves fell into a pot of boiling water meant for the emperor of China Shen Nung. - [Source](http://www.china.org.cn/learning_chinese/Chinese_tea/2011-07/15/content_22999489.htm)

18. In a 2004 study, Chinese women who ate [mushrooms](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-interesting-facts-mushrooms/) and drank green tea reduced their risk of breast [cancer](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-facts-you-got-to-know-about-cancer/) by nearly 90%. - [Source](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.24047/abstract;jsessionid=C9F54EEEF664CA73FC382865EA4D1963.f02t03)

19. Tea brewed from pine needles is high in Vitamin C and used to be drunk to ward off Scurvy. - [Source](http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19431126&id=0thOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uf8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7201%2C3982067)

20. In the Victorian era, they had special tea cups that protected your mustache from getting dunked in your tea. - [Source](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moustache_cup)

## 21-25 Tea Facts

[![gunfire](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/gunfire.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/gunfire.png)Image credit: foodfornet.com

21. There is a traditional British army drink called gunfire made of black tea and rum. Officers serve it to lower ranks on Christmas. During the [Korean war](https://www.kickassfacts.com/45-interesting-korean-war-facts/), British soldiers once gave gunfire to some American MPs, causing them to drive an ARV and some Jeeps into a fence. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfire_(drink))

22. The first automobile used in a war was a steam car. The British preferred it because they could tap the boiler to brew a cup of tea. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locomobile_Company_of_America#History)

23. An MMA fighter drank psychedelic mushroom tea and proceeded to tear out his friends still beating heart. - [Source](http://deadspin.com/5549389/mushroom-tea-murder-man-removes-friends-still-beating-heart)

24.  Green tea contains chemicals that will seep through pores to repel mosquitoes. - [Source](http://www.ehow.com/how_5067021_rid-mosquitoes-indoors.html)

25. Lady Astor, the first female British MP, was constantly at odds with British PM [Winston Churchill](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-winston-churchill/). During a debate, she declared that if married to him, she'd have poisoned his tea. Churchill responded 'Madam, if I was your husband, I would drink it.' - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Astor,_Viscountess_Astor)

## 26-30 Tea Facts

[![Image credit: chinahighlights.com](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tea-in-china.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tea-in-china.jpg)Image credit: chinahighlights.com

26. All the tea in China is worth about $9.4 billion. - [Source](http://marketrealist.com/2015/06/us-fourth-largest-tea-market-world/)

27. Ricola throat lozenges can be dissolved in boiling water to create an aromatic tisane, or "herbal tea". - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricola#History)

28. Turkey drinks nearly 3x as much tea per capita than the United Kingdom. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tea_consumption_per_capita)

29. Professor Kenneth Bentley and his entire team, who discovered Etorphine (a drug which is 1000-3000 times more potent than morphine and 4mg will immobilize a 4000kg elephant), passed out because someone stirred their morning tea with a glass stirrer used to make the etorphine. - [Source](http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/etorphine/etorphinev.htm)

30. Monks in northern [Japan](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-amazing-facts-about-japan-part2/) would practice self-mummification. A practice in which they would exercise rigorously to rid all body fat from their system, begin drinking a poisonous tea, and remain in a tiny tomb in the lotus position until confirmed dead. The process took over 3000 days. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu)

## 31-35 Tea Facts

31. F1 driver Damon Hill had cold black tea loaded into his car rather than water so it would heat up during the race giving him a hot beverage. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Hill#Jordan_.281998.E2.80.9399.29)

32. A group of Muslims from a York mosque managed to pacify an English Defense League rally by offering the protesters tea, biscuits, and a chance to play [football](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-footballsoccer/) inside with worshipers. - [Source](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-22689552)

33. Tea was so important for morale in the British army that in 1942 the UK bought the entire world's crop of tea.  -[Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benghazi_burner#The_Western_Desert_Campaign)

34. 'Root beer' was the name chosen over 'Root Tea' because root beer's first promoter felt miners were "more likely to drink a manly beer than a wimpy tea." - [Source](http://books.google.com/books?id=Wr_yPYvkNWwC&pg=PA93&hl=en&sa=X&ei=H_fJUd2qD-mCygHFwYDgBQ&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false)

35. The English invented the machine that functioned as both an alarm clock and a kettle. They were designed so the user would have a freshly made cup of tea at their bedside as soon as they woke up in the morning.  - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teasmade)

## 36-40 Tea Facts

[![Fennel](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Fennel.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Fennel.jpg)

36. Fennel tea and fennel seeds contain volatile oils that have antispasmodic properties and help prevent gastrointestinal problems like bloating, IBS and gas. - [Source](http://flatulencecures.com/using-fennel-seeds-gas-cramps-bloating)

37. A common scam in European cities involves a local who suggest going for a drink with attractive women at a local hotspot. Your "friend" disappears, and you are forced to pay the bill that runs into hundreds or thousands of dollars. The Chinese version involves tea. - [Source](http://wikitravel.org/en/Common_scams#Clip_joint)

38. Earl Grey Tea was designed to be made with water from Northumberland because of its naturally high calcium compound content. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Grey_tea)

39. There is a tea made of a plant, that is known for extending lifespan and research have indicated it's even inhibiting cancer. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gynostemma_pentaphyllum)

40. 'Low tea' and 'High tea' refer to the heights of the tables they are eaten on, not how fancy they are. Low tea is a classy social affair taken on a low table whereas high tea is a bigger meal eaten off a regular height dining table. - [Source](http://coffeetea.about.com/od/historyculture/a/High-Tea-Vs-Afternoon-Tea.htm)

## 41-45 Tea Facts

[![cup_of_tea_featured-image](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/cup_of_tea_featured-image.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/cup_of_tea_featured-image.png)

41. Tea is the most popular manufactured drink in the world in terms of consumption. Its consumption equals all other manufactured drinks in the world. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea#Cultivation_and_harvesting)

42. Inventor Ray Kurzweil takes 150 supplements, eight to 10 glasses of alkaline [water](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-water/) and 10 cups of green tea every day and drinks several glasses of red [wine](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-wine/) a week in an effort to "reprogram" his biochemistry so that he might live longer. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil#Health_and_aging)

43. A nomadic man travels the Pacific Northwest in a short bus offering free tea and friendship to anyone who will sit and converse with him in or around his bus. - [Source](http://www.freeteaparty.org/)

44. There is a treacherous climb you can take into a mountain trail, which at some points includes nothing more than a chain to climb up with holes in the dock, and at the top is a lonely tea brewing house that claims to have the best tea in the world! - [Source](http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/Earth/ChinaTeaHouse.aspx)

45. The British were not always heavy tea drinkers. They only switched to tea after an introduced plant rust wiped out most of the world's [coffee](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-coffee/) crops in the late 1800s. - [Source](http://www.apsnet.org/publications/apsnetfeatures/Pages/ICPP98CoffeeRust.aspx)

## 46-50 Tea Facts

![australian-man-lived-by-cliff](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/australian-man-lived-by-cliff.jpg)

46. An Australian man living by a cliff has prevented around 160 suicides in his 50 years of living there, by striking up a conversation with people contemplating suicide and inviting them to his house for tea. - [Source](http://gawker.com/5563648/meet-the-australian-whos-saved-160-people-from-suicide)

47. 2/3 of all known ages of Boston Tea Party participants were under the age of 20. - [Source](http://www.boston-tea-party.org/participants/participants.html)

48. There are green tea flavored Kit Kats available. - [Source](http://gothamist.com/2013/02/08/where_to_score_japanese_green_tea_k.php)

49. Putting dry tea bags in smelly shoes or gym bags will absorb the unpleasant odor. - [Source](http://greatist.com/health/treat-sunburns-with-tea-and-other-tips-032212/)

50. There is a Welsh-Argentine community in Patagonia. Immigrants first settled in 1865. Today up to 26,000 people in Argentina speak Patagonian Welsh. The town Gaimon has Welsh-style churches, tea houses, and an annual festival every October called Eisteddfod de Chubut. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonian_Welsh)

## 51-55 Tea Facts

[![angel-trumpets](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/angel-trumpets.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/angel-trumpets.png)

51. Women used to put pollen from Angel's Trumpet (a deadly flower) in their tea to induce LSD-like hallucinations. - [Source](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/step-inside-worlds-most-dangerous-garden-if-you-dare-180952635/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_campaign=09222014&utm_content=travelpoisongarden)

52. The only heir to the mighty Mughal Empire lives in abject poverty in a slum in Kolkata, running a tea stall. - [Source](http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-12-11/india/27862015_1_stall-bahu-slum)

53. The dry sensation tea and wine can leave in your mouth is called astringency and comes from tannins that bind the lubricating proteins which cause them to aggregate. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astringent)

54. There's tea with catnip in it, the catnip is used because we metabolize it differently than [cats](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-cats/) and it calms us instead of giving the same effect it does a cat. - [Source](http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/herbal-teas/tension-tamer)

55. The green tea molecule EGCG inhibits Zika virus entry - a polyphenol present in green tea has been shown to have an antiviral activity for many viruses. It might be possible to use it for prevention of Zika virus infections. - [Source](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27344138)

## 56-60 Tea Facts

[![tea-tree-oil](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tea-tree-oil.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tea-tree-oil.jpg)

56. Tea tree oil, garlic, and yogurt are all successful home remedies for vaginal yeast infections. - [Source](https://www.msu.edu/user/eisthen/yeast/diy.html)

57. A recipient of the Victoria Cross, who had tea with Queen Elizabeth, was refused a visa to settle in the UK because he "failed to demonstrate strong ties with the UK". - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tul_Bahadur_Pun#Victoria_Cross)

58. Teaberries are edible, with a taste of mildly sweet wintergreen. The leaves and branches make a fine herbal tea, through normal drying and infusion process. For the leaves to yield significant amounts of their essential oil, they need to be fermented for at least three days. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaultheria_procumbens)

59. The waffled style [ice cream](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-ice-cream/) cone, iced tea, hamburgers, hot dogs,  cotton candy, and Dr. Pepper, were first introduced to mass audiences or popularized at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. - [Source](http://webpages.charter.net/mtruax/1904wf/WF_Myths--Food.htm)

60. Despite having a net worth of over $50 Billion, IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad still drives a '93 Volvo. He also recycles tea bags and takes salt & pepper packets from restaurants when dining. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingvar_Kamprad#Career)

## 61-65 Tea Facts

[![Image credit: twinings.co.uk](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/lapsang-souchong.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/lapsang-souchong.png)Image credit: twinings.co.uk

61. The smoked Chinese tea Lapsang souchong has the flavors of dried longan, pine smoke, and [whiskey](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-whiskey/). Lapsang souchong has a high reputation outside China; it is viewed as a " tea for Westerners" inside China. Smoking it provides a way to create a marketable product from less desirable tea leaves. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapsang_souchong)

62. King Gustav III of Sweden, in an experiment, commuted the death sentences of a pair of twins on the condition that one drank 3 pots of [coffee](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-coffee/), and the other tea, every day for the rest of their lives. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_III_of_Sweden%27s_coffee_experiment)

63. George Orwell loved a cup of tea so much that in 1946 he published a guide to making it called "A Nice Cup Of Tea". -  [Source](http://www.whizzpast.com/legendary-lives-5-lesser-known-passions-george-orwell/)

64. In Boba tea, "boba" means large breasts, a slang for the chewy tapioca balls (or pearls) added to the drink. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea)

65. The English word "tea" comes from the Dutch word "thee," which in turn comes from the Malay "teh" which comes from the Amoy Chinese "t'e." - [Source](http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_low001200301_01/_low001200301_01_0016.php)

## 66-69 Tea Facts

[![tea-bags](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tea-bags.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tea-bags.jpg)

66. Tea bags were originally just intended to be packaged samples of tea, but buyers found it easier to leave it in the bag to brew. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_bag#History)

67. Tea bags are made of banana fibers. - [Source](http://www.swicofil.com/products/010banana.html)

68. The act of drinking tea in the UK was introduced in 1662 by a Portuguese queen. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_in_the_United_Kingdom)

69. Arnold Palmer drank iced tea with lemonade at home, and in 1960 at the U.S. Open at the Cherry Hills Country Club, he ordered the drink at the bar. A woman sitting nearby overheard him, and ordered "that Palmer drink", thus giving the beverage its name. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Palmer_(drink))