Tea is the world's most consumed beverage after water. Green tea is popular in China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and the Middle East. Just in the recent years green tea has gained more popularity in other countries, including United States. In Western countries black tea has been more popular than green tea. The tea has been used as a beverage for almost 5,000 years! Legend says that the first to "discover" tea was the Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung, when the leaf from the nearby tea tree fell into the cup of hot water near him and he decided to taste it. He liked this beverage so much that he sent his servants for more tea leaves...and that's how it all started!