Turkey had the highest rate of tea drinkers in 2022, with nine in ten people saying that they regularly drink the hot beverage, followed by Kenya. Tea is the second most widely consumed drink around the world, coming in only after water.
Think you know the answer to the question, “Who drinks the most tea?” You may be surprised. While China seems like the obvious answer, and for good reason since the country IS the largest consumer of tea at 1.6 billion pounds per year, astonishingly, China is not the largest consumer of tea per person.
Turkey is the largest consumer of tea. According to sources, each Turk consumes approximately 1,300 cups (3.16kg) of tea annually.
If you guessed China, you are correct! China is the largest producer of tea in the world — they are also the birthplace of tea. They drink about 1.6 billion pounds of tea a year, which is so much more than any other country. China alone consumes about 50% of the world's green tea supply.
Hangzhou, China
A pilgrimage to Hangzhou, the tea capital of the largest tea consuming and producer in the world is paramount. Hangzhou, home of the renowned Longjing (Dragon Well) green tea, is considered one of the most authentic tea drinking experiences you can have.
Conclusion - What Country Drinks the Most Tea
The country that drinks the most Tea in the world is Turkey, followed by Ireland, the UK, Iran, Russia, Morocco, New Zealand, Chile, Egypt and Poland.
The tree was a Camellia sinensis, and the resulting drink was what we now call tea. It is impossible to know whether there is any truth in this story. But tea drinking certainly became established in China many centuries before it had even been heard of in the west.
China is not only the world's largest tea producing country but is also the leading exporter. It exports over 300,000 metric tons of tea annually to the global market.
According to Guinness World Records, Turkey has the largest per capita consumption of bread in the world as of 2000, with 199.6 kg (440 lb) per person; Turkey is followed in bread consumption by Serbia and Montenegro with 135 kg (297 lb 9.9 oz), and Bulgaria with 133.1 kg (293 lb 6.9 oz).
Looking at the amount of alcohol consumed per person aged 15 years or older, the Seychelles is in first place with around 20.5 litres of alcohol drunk per person per year, according to Our World in Data; studies show that young male peer groups primarily drink high amounts of alcohol in the Seychelles.
Compared to other countries in the world, Argentina has the most soda consumption. About 155 liters per capita are consumed each year.
Doodh pati chai, literally 'milk and tea leaves', a tea beverage drunk in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Teh tarik, a kind of milk tea popular in Malaysia and Singapore. Suutei tsai, a salty Mongolian milk tea. Shahi haleeb, a Yemeni milk tea served after chewing qat.
The culture of drinking tea was ingrained in the Turks as it was an occasion to sit and talk, and tea houses historically are places of socialisation, he explained. A Mintel report also showed that Turkey tops the world's per capita consumption of tea, and ranks third in terms of the packaged tea markets.
From an overall population perspective, around 64% of Indians drink tea regularly.
The consumption volume of tea in India was approximately 1.2 billion kilograms during the financial year 2022.
While Da Hong Pao is the most expensive tea in the world and available only at auctions, there is another Chinese tea that is pretty expensive. And while it doesn't have Ming dynasty connections, it is related to a rare animal found in China. The Panda Dung tea uses the panda's dung as fertiliser.
Ceylon Tea is also the cleanest tea in the world in terms of pesticide residues, a fact confirmed by the ISO Technical Committee.
Twinings of London Earl Gray Black Tea
Speaking of tea… You might as well try a cup of the queen's favorite. It's been reported that Her Majesty often enjoyed Twinings of London Earl Gray Black Tea — a classic and all-natural selection that includes notes of citrus and bergamot — with a splash of milk and no sugar.
An assortment of the best tea in the world comes from Japan, whether it's jasmine green tea leaves, genmaicha (green tea with roasted rice), sencha, gyokuro, tencha or matcha. You can also find Japanese oolong tea and Japanese black tea, but green tea is the most common (accounting for 90% of tea in Japan).
In 1680 Madame de la Sabliere, served tea with milk at her famous Paris salon. She is traditionally ascribed to introducing the custom to Europe. It is also thought that the poor quality in tea had to be softened with the flavor of milk just to make it palpable.
Malawi is the pioneer of tea growing in Africa, with production first starting commercially in the 1880s in Mulanje. Now exporting some 31,000 tonnes annually, Malawi has a 1.7% share of world exports and is mainly responsible for the spread of tea cultivation in Africa.
The pronunciation "Cha" is tea in Guandong dialogue of Chinese. The word"Cha" is used widely in East Asia and East Europe. The pronunciation "Tea" is came from Amoi, Fujian province in China. Most of the European countries and the South Asia countries use similar pronunciation "Tea".
Tea was first prepared in China around 2700 BC, making it one of the world's earliest beverages. Evidence shows that tea was consumed for a good thousand years before coffee was cultivated for the very first time. After its discovery, tea was initially consumed only by Emperor Shen Nung of China and his disciples.
Chinese and Japanese tea - While the history of tea is long, spanning thousands of years, it is commonly believed that it originated in China as a medicinal drink and so it is that we refer to China as the 'home of tea'.