Brew made from leaves is the world’s cup of tea

I come from a family of tea drinkers — the blacker the tea and the hotter the water, the better.

Tea is made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, a shrub cultivated in western China for thousands of years.

It traveled around the world and today only water is a more popular beverage.

White, green and black teas are all made from the same plant.

It’s the time of harvest and the processing of the leaves that distinguishes grocery store bag tea from the most exotic and expensive blends.