According to the website for the Tea Association of the U.S.A., 50 percent of the U.S. population drinks tea on a daily basis. Also according to the website, in 2005 85 percent of the tea drunk in the U.S. was iced. Over 65 percent of the tea brewed in the U.S. was prepared using tea bags, with convenience mixes accounting for one fourth and instant and loose tea making up the balance. The Tea Association further reports that instant tea is declining and loose tea is gaining in popularity.

What does this mean for you? It means having a whole selection of tea on hand to attract that other 50 percent of the market.

If you are serious about tea, visit a tea room if one is near you. Depending on your location, this may or may not be easy. Tea rooms do have a slightly different feel from coffee houses, and it will be educational for you to study this.

¨      All tea comes from the same plant – the Camellia sinensis plant.

¨      Like coffee, tea is primarily grown between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn at high elevations.

¨      Taste can vary widely based on how it is processed and where it is grown.

¨      Tea is processed to produce black, green, white and oolong.

Herbal teas are also widely popular, but they do not come from the tea plant. Rather, herbal teas are an infusion of leaves, roots, bark, seeds or flowers of other plants. It is important to note that herbal teas are not associated with the research on the potential health benefits of traditional teas.

The Tea Association suggests that tea will continue to enjoy a rise in popularity as both ready-to-drink and brewed. In fact, the Tea Association predicts that ready-to-drink tea will see annual dollar increases in the 10–12 percent range, with specialty tea delivering 6-10 percent annual dollar increases.

Because tea is grown on thousands of estates around the world, it comes in many flavors and varieties. Add to that herbal tea, and you have a dizzying array of tea to choose from. Just as you are doing with coffee, be sure to sample several different types of tea to choose your distributor. The statistics provided by the Tea Association suggest you will be well-served to have on hand loose-leaf or tea bags of traditional and herbal teas, as well as an assortment of ready-to-drink bottled teas.