Tea-Conomics

My father expressed his distaste for unpleasant tasks by saying: “I wouldn’t do that for all of the tea in China.” Tea has historically been one of the world’s most valuable commodities, and China has long been the world’s foremost producer.

I learned quite a bit about the story of tea, and other beverages, in “A History of the World in 6 Glasses” by Tom Standage. My summer reading list is designed to take my mind away from business, but there were some important economic insights hidden within this book about the drinking habits of human beings.

Consumption of tea apparently began by accident nearly 5,000 years ago. Legend has it that a Chinese emperor was about to drink some boiled water when leaves fell into his cup. The taste was to his liking, and the beverage produced a heightened sense of well-being (which we now understand to be the result of caffeine). Tea was ascribed medicinal properties long before biologists established its ability to kill a range of bacteria and promote healthy digestion.

Tea Sales in the UK and Top Tea Producers in 2023

Those of us in developed markets think little about the quality and supply of drinking water, but we haven’t always been able to take them for granted. Waste management is a significant challenge for densely-populated areas; insufficient sewage treatment can allow diseases like typhoid and cholera to flourish. This remains an issue for many emerging markets to this day.