Today, December 15th, marks International Tea Day all over the world. The celebration of the warm beverage is relatively new, established in 2005 by the World Social Forum.
The goal of International Tea Day is to focus on the problems of the tea leaf market. Smaller growers are unhappy with the policies of large companies that buy up the raw goods at a lower price.
But besides economical issues, the tea holiday further popularizes the beverage that's already a favorite for millions.
December 15th was not chosen accidentally for the official International Tea Day celebration. In was on this day in 1773 that the Tea Act was passed, and on December 16th American colonists threw crate after crate of English tea into the waters of Boston Harbor as an act of protest.
This event marked the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, and the destruction of the tea came to be known historically as the Boston Tea Party.
The event is most passionately celebrated in India and Sri Lanka, where they organize numerous events related to today's celebration.
According to legends, the drink was first made accidentally in 2737 BC. The first person to drink tea was Shennong, when several tea leaves fell into his cup of hot water. He absolutely loved the unbelievable result.
During the reign of the Qin dynasty, tea grew in popularity and they began making it ever more often. The beverage came to Europe at the beginning of the 17th century.
Even though the technique for tea-making is easy, its taste in different parts of the world is not the same.
While most of us pour boiling water over a teabag and add lemon, sugar or honey, in India and Great Britain they drink their tea traditionally with milk. Indians also add various spices, such as ginger, cinnamon and cloves.
In Tibet, the milk they add to their tea comes from the Tibetan yak, while also adding salt, butter and sometimes braised flour.
In Russia, they boil tea in a special metal container called a samovar and then add honey, fruit jam or sugar to the prepared beverage.
In Japan, there's an entire tea ceremony dedicated on how to serve the beverage, which every girl in the country learns while still a child.
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