Friday fun facts #8: Tea

(Image taken from internet)

# Never use reboiled water, as it has lost the oxygen which is needed to bring out the full flavour.

# Tea leaves are a natural means of keeping mosquitoes away. All you have to do is use slightly damp leaves to add the scent of tea to the areas you want to keep insect-free.

# Tea is a natural antioxidant, and rich in vitamins B2, B1 and B6. Tea is also rich in potassium, manganese, folic acid and calcium.

# Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world, the first being water.

# There are many different kinds of tea, but they are all derived from just one plant: Camellia sinensis. The colour and variety of the tea (green, black, white, oolong) just depends on the way the leaves are treated.

# Tea is a natural source of fluoride that can help protect against tooth decay and gum disease.

# Anna, Duchess of Bedford, is credited with creating Afternoon Tea, when, in about 1840, she began taking tea with a light snack around 4:00 p.m. to ward off 'that sinking feeling'.

# There is, it seems, an estimated 1500 different types of tea.

# The United Kingdom drinks about 165 million cups of tea a day, or 62 billion cups per year.

# Tea has a finer taste when taken in a bone china tea cup than with other vessels.

# Tea plants only thrive in hot, humid climates with plenty of rainfall.

# Herbal tea is not tea. Its correct name is 'infusion' or 'tisane'.