The tea plant itself is Camellia sinensis, a native of Southeast Asia. The tea brewed from the dried leaves of this plant has been drunk in China probably for thousands of years and certainly since the 10th century BC, from which time written records of its use survive. After the introduction of tea in 1657, Britain became the only European country of tea drinkers rather than coffee drinkers. In recent years, however, coffee has gained in popularity, challenging tea's status. Tea was introduced into North America by early settlers but was heavily taxed by the British, eventually resulting in the well-known Boston Tea Party of 1773.
Tea is drunk by about half of the world's population.
China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Japan are the main producers. Orange pekoe is made from the youngest leaves and souchong from the fourth leaves. After picking, the leaves either are dried immediately and completely to produce green teas, such as gunpowder, or are partially dried and then allowed to ferment to produce various kinds of black teas, such as orange pekoe and souchong. Oolong tea is partially fired and then steamed, thus being intermediate between green and black teas. After being sorted on the basis of size, all grades of tea are packed in foil-lined chests to prevent the absorption of odors or the loss of aroma during shipment.