"After water, tea is the second-most consumed drink in the world, and the most popular drink in the UK: the British currently each get through an average of three and a half cups a day. But tea is not just another commodity; it is a phenomenon. It has changed the attitudes of one nation to another, exposed dividions of class and race, ossified social behaviour, shaped the ethics of business, influenced relations between management and labour and led to significant advances in medicine. Never before has there been so comprehensive a history of tea in all its aspects"--Front flap.