Although nobody really knows for sure who first had the idea of adding hot water to the leaves of the Camilla Sinensis plant to make a brew, we do know that tea is a very ancient beverage. In England, where afternoon tea could be considered a national pastime, it was only introduced recently from a historical standpoint.

Decaf tea is a great addition to the tea caddy, especially at those times when you do not necessarily want a pick me up, but just a great tasting cup of tea. In fact, having tea often means the very opposite - taking a few minutes to relax, clear your mind and let the cares of the day flow away. A cup of decaffeinated tea can fit the bill very nicely.

Although the facts are debatable, tea, as a beverage, is older than coffee, wine and maybe even older than beer. Some may argue about the latter, since some types of beer may be as old as 10,000 years, while tea has only been around for about 5,000. Fair point but let's agree to disagree and just say that tea is old, whichever way you look at it.

While it is true that the majority of tea comes from and is associated with China, India and other countries in Asia, there are some less well known areas of the world that also have the climate, soil and expertise to produce a fine tea.