Tea

Tea is a drink made from either fresh or dried leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to Asia. Because it normally requires very hot water to steep, it is a healthy way to drink water contaminated with microbes, which are killed by boiling. It also normally contains caffeine, and thus, like coffee and other caffeinated drinks, it helps keep people awake and alert. The drink has been exported to all the corners of the Earth, so that you can now have a warming cuppa in England, discuss politics in a Lebanese tea house until dawn, or experience the elaborate tea ceremonies of Japan. There are many varieties of tea which are enjoyed the world over, but also special types that are best experienced at the source—a tea itinerary would take you from a rich oolong in Tibet to the floral Darjeeling varieties, followed by strong Irish breakfast teas, a big pitcher of sweet tea in the American South, and the "national infusion" of Uruguay: yerba mate.