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Tea is one of the most popular drinks today in the world. It is mainly used as a refreshment drink. After getting up from sleep, the first thing that many people crave for is a cup of tea.

South America and South East Asian countries are the main producers of tea. China, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Japan are the major tea producing countries.

China has the oldest history of consuming tea as a drink. Historian believes that Chinese people have been taking since 28^th century BC but the written records of 10^th century contain the use of tea. Earlier, it was used as a medicine in China.

There are few legends about how tea was introduced in China. According to one legend, tea was first discovered by Shennong, the legendary Chinese emperor. He also introduced agriculture and medicine in China. According another legend, Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk was the first one to discover tea. Some times, Lord Buddha is related to the legend.

There are four true types of teas: black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white tea.

However, type of tea is also defined based on how the tea leaves are processed. Tea is categorized into seven types based on its processing: kukicha, yellow tea, pole, black tea, oolong, green tea,and white tea.

Useful links:

Encarta

Wikipedia