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Tea during the 20th Century
The 20th century brandished a new outlook on the consumption of tea by the
invention of tea-bags. A New York based tea merchant by the name of ‘Thomas
Sullivan’ practiced a custom of sending tea samples in white silk bags to
his customers who were highly fascinated by this new graceful product. The
arrival of tea bags accelerated a huge mass demand in regard to the
possibility of drinking tea without special brewing utensils and decrease in
prices. As a result, tea soon turned out to be the world’s most wanted
drink.
During the 20th century, the source of tea
crops spread throughout the world, from Japan to Africa and South America.
Towards the end of the 20th century, an additional rise of tea consumption
occurred in the west and also produced demand for quality teas.
The upward movement in tea consumption is the occident
results from three primary reasons:
• Tea, as a natural drink with evident health benefits,
fitted in perfectly with
the lifestyle of traditional trend and an
aspiration to lead a healthy, simple
life which rose in massive popularity
then.
• Western travelers in the east, who brought with them
tidings of tea upon
their return.
• High rate of immigration of Asians to the west affected
the western
countries with their patronage to the habit of drinking tea.
Today, tea is grown and produced in more than 40 countries
globally. Hence, the efficiency of the tea industry’s worldwide economy
stands at more than 3 billion dollars a year. Every year more than 2.5
tonnes of tea is produced around the world, mostly in the Asian countries. |
