Tibetians still enjoy a variation of this where they cook the tealeaves in milk and enjoy the tealeaves as a meal and the liquid as the beverage. Even Indians cook their tea with a host of spices, which is called the Masala Tea reminds Mr. Perera.

During the 19th Century, he explains, these ‘tea bricks’ were more than just a berverage to East Asian countries such as Mongolia, Tibet and even Siberia where they used these as a form of  currency. Tea in Tang Dynasty was also used as a cloth dye for the lower classes. Strangely it was not a mark of poverty, but status of sorts.

Returning to the present, Mr. Perera explains that while Japan is still largely ignorant of black tea, the Western world is just getting to know other tea varieties. For a very long time, says Mr. Perera, the Western world knew of only black tea, and is still their most popular beverage constitituting over 90% of the world market. Even today, for many a Western tea drinker, black tea is just an expression to describe a cup of tea without milk or cream – similar to black coffee. In places such as England, tea is rarely served ‘black’.

However, the cup of black tea is not enjoyed as the same hot cup of tea by everyone, says Mr. Perera. One of the most popular deviations is the iced tea. Iced tea, like most great inventions, came about as an act of desperation. Stepping back into the recent past, Mr. Perera explains how Blechynden, a tea planter who participated in the St. Louis World Trade Fair in 1904 had his plans almost spoiled by an unexpected heat wave.

He planned to serve his fair visitors with his tea samples, but no one fancied a cup of hot tea in the heat. In a desperate attempt to secure a market he worked so hard to impress, he dumped a load of ice into his tea, which needless to say became an instant hit.

While this iced tea became almost a tradition around the world, especially with slices of lime in chilled tall glasses, Americans, always known for their unique ways, enjoy a different type of iced tea – the sun-iced tea, Mr. Perera tells. Here, the tealeaves are steeped in water of room temperature and left out in the hot sun the whole day. This water thus heat up in the mid-afternoon summer blaze and then cool down with the evening chill. The tealeaves are then strained, chilled further if desired and enjoyed as the sun-iced tea.

The sun-iced tea, originated and enjoyed exclusively by Americans, is however frowned by those in Boston – who still enjoys their tea with crisp white linen and silverware, says Mr. Perera. While the ‘colonial world’ enjoys their tea of mild strength, but with a good dash of milk and sugar, in the Arab world, tea is served very strong and thick in dainty, but elaborately designed tiny cups.

Often half the cup is filled with this strong thick black tea and the other half with date syrup which is sweeter than honey, or sugar. Sometimes, he says, Arabians enjoy their tea without any sugar or date syrup, but with just ripe dates, which, according to Mr. Perera, is a treat.

Finally, concluding the very many different ways different people enjoy their cup of black tea, Mr. Perera explains how tea fans show that tea can be as versatile as its strong opponent, coffee, with its own version of Cupputeano. A Cupputeano, a combination of a normal tea and cappucino, is very simple to make, says Mr. Perera. Brew the tea as normal and add sugar as desired. Whisk heated milk until frothy and top it into the tea. Enjoy!