There’s nothing like a cup of tea on any given day, at any given moment to refresh the tired body and mind. A cup of tea, with honey and mint and a dash of lime, at the start of the day, clears bowels. Green tea will keep excess weight at bay. Cold lemon tea on a hot day is refreshing and hot tea on a cold day warms up the insides.

There are a number of traditions followed all over the world, each one different from the other, though the basic beverage remains the same. There a number of recipes for preparation of tea and the method of brewing them differs from country to country.

In Tibet, it is a soup like food and prepared from “brick” tea, which is crushed and soaked in water overnight with a number of other ingredients. In a very quaint custom of Turkey, a sugar cube is placed beneath the tongue before sipping the black beverage. Russian tea is brewed with a ‘samovar’, an urn used to boil water for tea. In Morocco, the ceremony begins with the lighting of incense followed by the participants of the tea drinking ceremony washing their hands in water infused with orange blossoms. The ingredients that go into the preparation of Moroccan tea are green leaves, fresh mint and sugar.

Green tea is drunk in China from bowls and offered to their guests too. The British’s fondness for tea with milk is well-known. But, it is the Japanese have made the tradition of preparing and drinking tea an exquisite art unto itself. Green tea is popular in Japan, though the black version is enjoyed too. Indian tea, known as ‘masala chai’, meaning spiced tea, is brewed with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Milk and sugar are added to the brew.

There are many more tea traditions followed around the world but the basic tea, black, brick or green, remains the same.