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Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or
boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to Asia. After water, it is the most widely consumed drink in
the world. There are many different types of tea; some teas, like Darjeeling and Chinese greens, have a cooling,
slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have vastly
different profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral or grassy notes.
The name of tea
is coming from north of China, because in the North of China they call it Tea"
and in south of China they call it Chai".
Tea originated
in Southwest
China, where it was
used as a medicinal drink. It was popularized as a
recreational drink during the Chinese Tang dynasty, and tea drinking spread to other East Asian countries. Portuguese priests and
merchants introduced it to Europe during the 16th century. During the 17th
century, drinking tea became fashionable among Britons, who started large-scale
production and commercialization of the plant in India to bypass the Chinese
monopoly.
Iranian used to
drink coffee very often, but because Iran was on the Silk Road and had trading
with China and then with India, they start to get interested to drink tea as
well.