United KingdomFoundational
British afternoon tea & the "cuppa"
Britain runs on tea: a workaday "cuppa" of strong milky black tea punctuates the day, while afternoon tea remains the c…
ChinaFoundational
Chinese gongfu cha (工夫茶)
Gongfu cha means brewing tea with skill and care: a high leaf-to-water ratio, a small vessel, and many short infusions…
IranFoundational
Iranian chai
In Iran, tea is a slow, warm, unhurried ritual built around the samovar — and around the sugar cube held between the te…
IrelandFoundational
Irish tea ("a good strong cup")
The Irish drink some of the most tea per head on Earth, favouring a robust, malty, milky brew that anchors hospitality…
JapanFoundational
Japanese chanoyu / chadō (茶の湯)
Chanoyu ('hot water for tea'), also called chadō or sadō, is the Japanese Way of Tea: matcha whisked in a bowl within a…
MoroccoFoundational
Maghrebi mint tea (atay)
Maghrebi mint tea — atay — is North Africa's ritual of welcome: gunpowder green tea, a generous handful of fresh mint,…
IndiaFoundational
Masala chai
India's masala chai boils black tea, milk, sugar and spices together into one sweet, aromatic brew — a drink sold on ev…
TurkeyFoundational
Turkish çay
In Turkey tea is not an occasion but a constant — a small tulip glass of ruby-red çay appears at every shop counter, of…
PakistanLandmark
Pakistani chai (doodh patti & Kashmiri pink chai)
Pakistani chai runs from everyday doodh patti — leaves boiled straight in milk — to festive Kashmiri pink chai, a milky…
RussiaLandmark
Russian samovar tea
Russian tea centres on the samovar: a strong zavarka concentrate diluted to taste with the urn's boiling water, sipped…
TaiwanLandmark
Taiwanese tea (gongfu oolong & bubble tea)
Taiwan pairs a refined gongfu oolong culture — prized high-mountain teas brewed in small pots — with the birthplace of…
United StatesEstablished
American sweet tea & iced tea
In the American South, sweet tea — strong iced black tea sweetened to syrupy generosity — is the "house wine of the Sou…
SenegalEstablished
Attaya
Senegal's attaya is a three-round gunpowder-green-tea ritual — brewed with mint and sugar over charcoal and served in g…
ThailandEstablished
Cha yen (Thai iced tea)
Thailand's cha yen is a vivid orange iced tea — strong spiced black tea made lusciously sweet and creamy with condensed…
EgyptEstablished
Egyptian tea (shai)
In Egypt tea is shai, the national drink, brewed two ways: light 'Koshary' steeped in the glass in the north, and dark,…
Hong KongEstablished
Hong Kong-style milk tea (港式奶茶 / 絲襪奶茶)
Hong Kong-style milk tea is the signature drink of the cha chaan teng: a robust black-tea blend pulled through a long c…
MongoliaEstablished
Suutei tsai
Mongolia's suutei tsai is a savoury, salted milk tea — brick or green tea boiled with milk and salt — that nourishes st…
China (Tibet Autonomous Region) and the wider HimalayaEstablished
Tibetan butter tea (po cha / 巴茶)
Po cha, Tibetan butter tea, is brick tea boiled for hours then churned with yak butter and salt into a rich, savoury, s…