America has long been a nation of coffee drinkers. However, our beloved beverage may have a contender: experts say tea is rising in popularity among US consumers.
According to the Tea Association of the USA, the tea market has rapidly expanded – from under $2 billion in 1990 to a wholesale value exceeding $10 billion last year. In fact, tea imports have surged by more than 700 percent over the past 50 years, based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
How Do You Take Your Tea?
Every country has its own unique approach to tea-making. In the UK, for instance, tea isn’t complete without adding milk.
In the US:
Some prefer it hot, but most Americans favor iced tea.
Black tea is America’s favorite, with fruit and herbal teas coming in second.
Green tea consumption is growing, now accounting for 11 percent of all tea sold in the U.S.
Reading Tea Leaves
While green tea differs significantly from black tea, they all originate from the same plant, the evergreen shrub Camellia sinensis.
How do we achieve such diverse flavors from a single plant? Tea producers manipulate the shape and chemistry of the leaves, creating a wide variety of tastes by altering their processing methods.
Tea leaves can be plucked, withered (or wilted), rolled, or dried. Oxidation, which exposes the enzymes in the leaf to oxygen, is a crucial factor in determining the tea type produced:
Green tea is plucked, withered, and rolled. Heat is applied during rolling to prevent oxidation, and the leaves are typically steamed or pan-fired while being rolled into different shapes, each with its unique taste.
Black tea involves all the key processing steps, but the leaves are allowed to oxidize completely, producing a robust flavor often tempered with milk.
White tea is minimally processed and named after the white “down” on tea leaf buds.
Let's Toast to Tea
Struggling with a complex business issue or seeking the next big idea? A cup of tea might help. Research suggests that combining L-Theanine, an amino acid found exclusively in Camellia sinensis, with caffeine (200mg each) can improve cognition and attention.
Additionally, studies indicate that people who drink tea four times daily for at least six weeks have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
From its flavor to its cognitive benefits, tea can do it all. For that, we say “yes” to a cup, hot or iced. Cheers to tea!
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