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Seen as world’s most-consumed drink after water, tea is national drink of Türkiye, in the home, office and out shopping.
ISTANBUL…
Enjoying a glass of tea is an indelible part of Turkish culture, as whether at home, in the office or even during shopping, hot glasses of the traditional brew are regularly on offer.
Turkish people have long since proven their love for tea, but last year made it official, when they became the world’s top tea-drinking country. To be exact, the average Turkish person consumes around 1,300 cups of tea a year, far above the international average.
Mehmet Erdoğan, deputy chair of the Istanbul-based TürkÇayDer, an umbrella group of Turkish tea producers, told Anadolu Agency that although tea entered the daily lives of Turkish people relatively late, it became a traditional and national drink in quite short order.
“Tea culture, as a symbolic part of common life and hospitality, created a great ethnographic and intellectual richness,” Erdoğan said.
“Tea has become a symbol of Turkish friendship and hospitality,” he added.
Seen as the world’s most-consumed drink after water, tea is believed to have originated in northeast India, north Myanmar, and southwest China although the exact place where the caffeinated plant first grew is unknown, according to the UN.
“Tea has been with us for a long time. There is evidence that tea was consumed in China 5,000 years ago,” according to the UN’s website.
By Handan Kazancı,
www.aa.com.tr
