Tea was grown for the first time in China. Tea is the most popular beverage in the world today. It is liked by the poor and the rich alike. Tea is a plantation crop. Now it is grown in large quantities in different hilly areas of India and Sri Lanka. In India, Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are the major tea-producing states. Darjeeling tea is famous for its fine flavour.
A tea plant is an evergreen bush, three to ten metres in height. It is regularly pruned to keep its height within one to two metres. For its cultivation, regular heavy rainfall, hot and humid weather and sloping land is necessary.
Only a few buds and tender leaves are plucked from each tea plant. Then they are rolled and roasted, curled and crushed in the factory. Thus, tea is made ready for the market. We buy it from there and mix hot water, milk and sugar with it to get our favourite drink. Tea refreshes us when we are tired. But taking too much of tea is harmful to our health.
