Tea comes from the leaves of a small evergreen bush called Camellia sinensis, and it is the most popular drink in the world after water! The tea plant loves to grow on misty hillsides in warm places like China, India, and Japan. People carefully pick the youngest, tiniest leaves from the very top of the plant because those baby leaves make the tastiest tea. Here is a cool fact: green tea, black tea, and white tea all come from the exact same plant! The difference is how the leaves are dried and prepared after they are picked.
After the leaves are picked, they are spread out to dry and sometimes rolled or crushed to bring out different flavors. When you pour hot water over the dried leaves, the water slowly turns into a beautiful golden or green color, and that is your tea! People in China discovered tea over 4,000 years ago, and one old story says a leaf accidentally blew into an emperor’s cup of hot water. Today, people all around the world drink billions of cups of tea every single day, and they enjoy it hot, iced, sweet, or plain.
