Tea, introduction

I am reverting back to my subject of TEA.  So firstly I looked up what is tea? and where to go but of course Wikipedia:
 "Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world.  It has a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour that many people enjoy."

Nothing new there, and Wikipedia will give you all the history that we sort of have in the back of our minds but only need to know for that Quiz Night we may go to in the near future.  We know it has positive health benefits, and each type of tea has different health benefits, so you need to be drinking a variety of white, green and black teas.  We also know tea is blended to make different varieties.  Then there are the herbal teas, can they really be called tea?  After we have discerned the differences between the teas, we shall try to work out the correct way and when to drink all these different teas, and most importantly what to EAT with each tea.

A general comment about tea is that it contains L-theanine, and its consumption is strongly associated with a calm but alert and focused, relatively productive, mental state in humans. This mental state is also common to meditative practice.  This may be why when ever someone is stressed, upset, tired, flat (you know all the words I mean) and in time of great drama, someone will offer you a cup of tea.  I am aware that on a very hot day (which besides being HOT I am also stressed as I loathe the hot weather), the cooling effect tea has on me.  Many people find this a strange phenomena, why a hot drink on a hot day, but it works.

Then we need to find out how much tea is good for you, and how much then becomes over dosing.
So, the areas we need to explore are:

1. Where does TEA arise from?
2. Where the word TEA arrives from?
3. Different types of TEA (will be a big chapter!)
4. How to store TEA.
5. Serving of TEA (my favourite)
6. Additives in TEA
7. Packaging of TEA
8. Health Benefits of TEA
9. Culture of TEA (different countries)
10. Economics of TEA

I may need to add more chapters as I go, but for now that is as far as my  mind will venture.  I actually need to go and have a cup of tea to keep working, so this will be my introduction for MY story on TEA. 

I am leaving the links to Wikipedia in so that you may research more as we progress through the article.
(This picture is courtesy of Wikipedia)

 Moroccan tea being served: It is poured from a distance to produce a foam on the tea