Overall tea is the most popular drink in the world, after water, and every day around 4 billion cups of tea are drunk.

The way tea is enjoyed differs all around the world:

In the UK, the US and Canada and in India, tea is a common purchase at the supermarket. In these countries the packaging, format and flavour of the tea bag are really important. The ceremony of tea drinking is less important now – tea is usually made with a tea bag in a mug or a cup.

In France, tea is treated with greater ceremony and the French would never serve tea with milk when entertaining!

In India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, you are more likely to find tea leaves sold loose in packets, these leaves are then often boiled up with water, milk, sugar and spices.

Green teas have been an important part of Oriental drinking cultures for centuries, but in recent years their popularity has been spreading across the world as people search for new taste experiences.

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

Fruit and herbal infusions (which actually don’t contain any tea at all!) are growing in popularity – reputed to have health giving properties, consumers are drinking them in keeping with a healthy lifestyle.

Iced tea has always been popular - but you can now purchase it ready to drink and mixed with fruit juices. This cold soft drink appeals to younger drinkers who are looking for an alternative to fizzy drinks. Consumption of these drinks are highest in Asia, followed by the US and Canada.

Early Australian settlers brewed tea in a tin can called a "billy". Today, their ancestors still drink "billy tea".

In China, as each guest is presented with a cup of tea, he or she may thank their server by tapping, or knocking, their fingers on the table three times.

Today, the British enjoy more than 200 million cups of tea a day - an average of almost 4 cups per person per day! and Indian 350 million apprx. - an average of almost 7 cups per person per day!