Chinese Tea --- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

At present, more than forty countries in the world grow tea with Asian countries producing 90% of the world's total output. The origin of all tea trees in other countries, either directly or indirectly, is China. The words for tea leaves or tea as a drink in many countries are derivatives from the Chinese character "cha". The Russians call it "cha'i", which sounds like "chaye" (tea leaves) as pronounced in northern China. The English word "tea" sounds similar to the pronunciation of its counterpart in Xiamen (Amoy). The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as it is in Chinese, though pronounced slightly different. The habit of tea drinking spread to Japan in the 6th century but was not introduced to Europe and America till the 17th and 18th centuries. Now, the number of tea drinkers in the world is legion and still increasing.