Editing Tea (section)

== Tea culture ==
{{main|Tea culture}}
{{See also|American tea culture|Argentine tea culture|Azerbaijani tea culture|Brazilian tea culture|Dominican tea culture|Indian tea culture|Tea culture in Japan|Mexican tea culture|Russian tea culture|Senegalese tea culture}}
In many cultures, tea is consumed at elevated social events, such as the [[tea party]]. [[Tea ceremony|Tea ceremonies]] have arisen in different cultures, such as the [[Chinese tea culture|Chinese]] and [[Japanese tea ceremony|Japanese]] traditions, each of which employs certain techniques and ritualised protocol of brewing and serving tea for enjoyment in a refined setting. One form of Chinese tea ceremony is the [[Gongfu tea ceremony]], which typically uses small [[Yixing clay teapot]]s and oolong tea.

[[Tea in the United Kingdom|In the United Kingdom]], 63% of people drink tea daily.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/681635/tea-consumption-daily-amount-united-kingdom-uk/ |title=• UK: average cups of tea per day 2017 &#124; Statista |website=www.statista.com |access-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702043046/https://www.statista.com/statistics/681635/tea-consumption-daily-amount-united-kingdom-uk/ |archive-date=2 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is customary for a host to offer tea to guests soon after their arrival. Tea is consumed both at home and outside the home, often in cafés or [[teahouse|tea rooms]]. [[Tea (meal)#Afternoon tea|Afternoon tea]] with cakes on fine porcelain is a cultural stereotype. In southwest England, many cafés serve a [[cream tea]], consisting of scones, [[clotted cream]], and jam alongside a pot of tea.

[[File:Tea and Biscuits (30700190145).jpg|thumb|Tea being served in [[Karbala]], [[Iraq]]]]

Ireland, as of 2016, was the second-biggest per capita consumer of tea in the world, after Turkey.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/507950/global-per-capita-tea-consumption-by-country/|title=Annual per capita tea consumption worldwide as of 2016, by leading countries |website=Statista|date=14 January 2016}}</ref> Local blends are the most popular in Ireland, including [[Irish breakfast tea]], using Rwandan, Kenyan and Assam teas. The annual national average of tea consumption in Ireland is 2.7&nbsp;kg to 4&nbsp;kg per person. [[Tea culture#Ireland|Tea in Ireland]] is usually taken with milk or sugar and brewed longer for a stronger taste.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/why-we-get-a-better-cup-in-ireland-than-all-the-tea-in-china-1.1949600 |title=Why we get a better cup in Ireland than all the tea in China |last=Pope |first=Conor |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref>

[[Tea in Turkey|Turkish tea]] is an important part of [[Turkish cuisine|that country's cuisine]] and is the most commonly consumed hot drink, despite the country's long history with coffee. In 2004, Turkey produced 205,500 tonnes of tea (6.4% of the global total), which made it one of the largest tea markets in the world,<ref name="quantity">{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/105404/index.html|title=World tea production reaches new highs|work=fao.org|access-date=3 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428045119/http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/105404/index.html|archive-date=28 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> with 120,000 tons being consumed in Turkey and the rest being exported.<ref name="tea">''About Turkey: Geography, Economics, Politics, Religion and Culture'', Rashid and Resit Ergener, Pilgrims' Process, 2002, {{ISBN|0-9710609-6-7}}, p. 41</ref> In 2010, Turkey had the highest per capita consumption in the world at 2.7&nbsp;kg.<ref name="Indian Tea Industry Report">{{cite press release |url=http://agritrade.iift.ac.in/html/Training/ASEAN%20%E2%80%93%20India%20FTA%20%20Emerging%20Issues%20for%20Trade%20in%20Agriculture/Tea%20Export.pdf |title=Capacity Building Program on International Trade |publisher=Ministry of Agriculture |access-date=26 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611133413/http://agritrade.iift.ac.in/html/Training/ASEAN%20%E2%80%93%20India%20FTA%20%20Emerging%20Issues%20for%20Trade%20in%20Agriculture/Tea%20Export.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2014 }}</ref> As of 2013, the per-capita consumption of Turkish tea exceeds 10 cups per day and 13.8&nbsp;kg per year.<ref>{{cite news |title=En çok çay ve karpuz tüketiyoruz (in Turkish)/ We consume a lot of tea and watermelon |author=Turkish Statistical Institute |url=http://www.cnnturk.com/2013/ekonomi/genel/08/11/en.cok.cay.ve.karpuz.tuketiyoruz/719067.0/ |newspaper=[[CNN Türk]] |date=11 August 2013 |access-date=24 August 2013 |author-link=Turkish Statistical Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191721/http://www.cnnturk.com/2013/ekonomi/genel/08/11/en.cok.cay.ve.karpuz.tuketiyoruz/719067.0/ |archive-date=29 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Tea is grown mostly in [[Rize Province]] on the Black Sea coast.<ref>"tea"</ref>

[[File:South Indian tea seller.jpg|thumb|upright|left|South Indian woman preparing a cup of morning tea in the traditional South Indian way]]
[[Russian tea culture|Russia has a long, rich tea history]] dating to 1638 when tea was introduced to [[Michael I of Russia|Tsar Michael]]. Social gatherings were considered incomplete without tea, which was traditionally brewed in a [[samovar]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tea in Russia |url=https://www.alimentarium.org/en/knowledge/tea-russia |website=Alimentarium |access-date=3 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929103430/https://www.alimentarium.org/en/knowledge/tea-russia |archive-date=29 September 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In Pakistan, both black and green teas are popular and are known locally as ''sabz chai'' and ''[[kahwah]]'', respectively. The popular green tea is often served after every meal in the [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] belt of [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] and in [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]. In central and southern Punjab and the metropolitan Sindh region of Pakistan, tea with milk and sugar (sometimes with pistachios, cardamom, etc.), commonly referred to as ''chai'', is widely consumed. It is the most common beverage of households in the region. In the northern Pakistani regions of [[Chitral]] and [[Gilgit-Baltistan]], a salty, buttered [[Butter tea|Tibetan-style tea]] is consumed.

[[Indian tea culture]] is strong; the drink is the most popular hot beverage in the country. It is consumed daily<ref>{{Cite web|title=A majority of Indians think theirs is a tea-drinking nation|url=https://business.yougov.com/content/26569-majority-indians-think-theirs-tea-drinking-nation|access-date=3 August 2020|website=YouGov: What the world thinks|language=en-IN}}</ref> in almost all houses, offered to guests, consumed in high amounts in domestic and official surroundings, and is made with the addition of milk with or without spices, and usually sweetened. It is sometimes served with biscuits to be dipped in the tea and eaten before consuming the tea. More often than not, it is drunk in "doses" of small cups (referred to as "cutting" chai if sold at street tea vendors) rather than one large cup.

[[File:Iranian tea.jpg|alt=tea in narrow waist glass|thumb|150px|Iranians usually drink tea with rock candy or ghand and in glass cups.]]

[[Iranian peoples|Iranians]] have one of the highest per capita rates of tea consumption in the world. ''Châikhânes'' ([[teahouse]]s) are common in Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 November 2018 |title=Persian Tea {{!}} Everything You Need to Know |url=http://www.persianfoodtours.com/persian-tea/ |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=Persian Food Tour |language=en-US}}</ref> Iranian tea is typically served in traditional Iranian glasses with a traditional saucer and teaspoon. Tea is  cultivated in [[northern Iran]] along the shores of the [[Caspian Sea]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Persian Tea |url=http://www.tdefilm.ir/News/www.tdefilm.ir |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=TDE}}</ref>

In Burma ([[Myanmar]]), tea is consumed not only as hot drinks, but also as [[sweet tea]] and green tea known locally as ''laphet-yay'' and ''laphet-yay-gyan'', respectively. Pickled tea leaves, known locally as ''[[lahpet]]'', are a national delicacy. Pickled tea is usually eaten with roasted sesame seeds, crispy fried beans, roasted peanuts and fried garlic chips.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xTk20rPq1dUC |title=Burma: Rivers of Flavor |first=Naomi |last=Duguid |isbn=978-1-57965-413-9 |year=2012|publisher=Artisan }}</ref>

In Mali, [[gunpowder tea]] is served in series of three, starting with the highest oxidisation or strongest, unsweetened tea, locally referred to as "strong like death", followed by a second serving, where the same tea leaves are boiled again with some sugar added ("pleasant as life"), and a third one, where the same tea leaves are boiled for the third time with yet more sugar added ("sweet as love"). Green tea is the central ingredient of a distinctly Malian custom, the "Grin", an informal social gathering that cuts across social and economic lines, starting in front of family compound gates in the afternoons and extending late into the night, and is widely popular in [[Bamako]] and other large urban areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Malian Tea Ceremony |url=https://www.virtualgreenteamuseum.de/malianteaceremony.php |website=Virtual Green Tea Museum |access-date=3 May 2024}}</ref>

In the United States, 80% of tea is consumed as [[iced tea]].<ref>"Tea". Modern Marvels television (program). The History Channel. Broadcast 15 October 2010.</ref> [[Sweet tea]] is native to the [[Southeastern United States|southeastern U.S.]] and is iconic in its cuisine due to its refreshing temperature and large amount of [[White sugar|sweetener]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://gpbnews.org/post/sweet-tea-history-nectar-south|title=Sweet Tea: A History of the 'Nectar Of The South'|last=Powers|first=Sean|access-date=14 March 2019|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129132033/http://www.gpbnews.org/post/sweet-tea-history-nectar-south|archive-date=29 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights=180 widths=180>
File:Turkish tea2.jpg|[[Turkish tea]] served in a typical small glass and corresponding plate
File:English_teaware.jpg|English teaware
File:Iced Tea from flickr.jpg|upright=0.8|[[Iced tea]] with a slice of lemon
File:South Indian tea (5399611578).jpg|Indian masala tea
File:Classic bubble tea.jpg|[[Bubble tea]]
File:Hibiscus tea.jpg|[[Hibiscus tea]]
File:Cha yen.JPG|[[Thai tea]]
</gallery>