Coffee lovers and soda drinkers may wonder why tea is the most consumed beverage in the world, second to water. So why should everyone consider drinking tea as part of a healthy lifestyle? Let’s give seven reasons to drink tea.

1. Tea tastes great! With thousands of varieties of tea on the market, there are countless teas that serve up beautiful tasting notes, like floral, sweet, cocoa, woody, smoky, earthy, spicy, creamy, nutty and the list goes on as you keep on trying different teas. The main ingredient that makes black tea astringent or bitter is the caffeine, which is a natural pesticide that can paralyze some insects!

2. Tea contains caffeine. Caffeine gets a bad rap now and then, but the caffeine levels in most tea is half that of coffee, about 40mg in a cup of black tea and 20mg in a cup of green tea. Also, caffeine can provide positive stimulation to most tea drinkers because it’s balanced by an amino acid found in tea, L-theanine.

3. Tea contains L-theanine, an amino acid that has been shown to: increase alpha brain wave activity, reduce anxiety, increase immunity, antioxidant activity by fighting off pre-cancerous cells, reduce lipid levels in the blood, and counteract caffeine’s stimulant effects with a calm, focused effect on the body and brain. This is the key ingredient that helps stimulate the mind, while calming the body without jitters.

4. Tea contains antioxidants. Black tea, green tea, oolong tea, and white tea all contain antioxidants. Antioxidants help the body reduce harmful free radicals that can lead to cancer. Matcha green tea powder from Japan contains an incredible amount of antioxidants that tower over superfoods like goji, acai, dark berries and others.

5. Tea crosses cultures. Try to think of a culture that doesn’t drink tea, it’s hard to do because tea bridges almost every country’s cultural borders. All cultures have their way and tradition of tea, which brings a richness to every tea that we experience.

6. Tea takes time. Everything takes time, but tea’s cultural role brings a specific gift to life with the time that it takes to make and enjoy tea, with one another or in solitude. Whether a Japanese tea master serves up a bowl of Matcha in the Chado tea ceremony, or a Moroccan merchant offers their guests a glass of Chinese gunpowder green tea with fresh spearmint, the world has been infused with tea.

7. Tea changed the world. Tea originated in China and has affected the entire globe with its propagation in over 40 countries. Tea traveled from China to Japan, from China to the West, from the West to India and Africa and now grows even in Australia and Argentina and the United States! What other beverage has had such an affect on history than tea?