Steeped in Tea

– Over steeping tea brings out bitterness from tannin, which is a natural part of tea. These are found within the polyphenols of tea. If you enjoy tea stronger, add more tea leaves or an extra tea bag, do not over steep it!

– Orange Pekoe is not a type of tea. In fact, it is a grading system for black teas. Though it is often used as a description for generic black teas, it is actually meant as a basic medium grade black tea. Furthermore, the term orange itself does not refer to the colour of the tea. Instead, it is thought to be the colour of the Dutch Royal House of Orange-Nassau, since the Dutch East India Company played a large role in the tea trade. Also, though commonly pronounced as “Pee-ko”, it is in fact pronounced Peh-cko”. Next time someone offers you a cup of Orange Pekoe – make sure you tell them there is no such thing!

– All tea – green, white, black, oolong, and pu-ehr – come from the same plant. Anything else is not considered to be tea – it is known as a tisane or herbal.

-Tea is the second most popular beverage in the world – next to water.

– Most of the caffeine in tea is released after 30 seconds of brewing. By emptying this and pouring new hot water over the tea, de-caf tea can be replicated.

– Teabags were an accidental discovery. New York importer Thomas Sullivan shipped his tea in silk bags. Instead of removing the bag, customers steeped the tea in the bags.

– The leading producers of tea by country are as follows: India, China, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Kenya, Turkey, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, Argentina, Malawi, Tanzania, Taiwan (Formosa), and Zimbabwe.