Food - Drink
Most Of The World's Tea Comes From This Country
By STEPHANIE FRIEDMAN
Tea dates back to as early as 2700 B.C., and today, it's the second-most popular drink in the world, according to Statista. Tea has been beloved in many countries over the course of centuries, but this drink has an especially long history in Asia, so the country that grows the most tea today might not come as a surprise to you.
Most of the world's tea comes from China, which produced almost 3 million tons of tea leaves in 2020, with India coming in second place with only half as much tea, at 1.4 million tons. Statista reports that in 2021, green tea accounted for 60% of China's tea production, making it the most popular type of tea that is grown in the country.
America in particular is heavily reliant on Chinese tea exports, with half of the U.S.'s supply of green tea coming from the world's largest global producer. Not only is China the world’s top producer, it's also the birthplace of tea as we know it, and offers many ultra-special regional teas from areas like Yunwu, Maofeng, and Longjing.