Of the tea sold in the United States each year, 85 percent is consumed as iced tea. When it comes to hot caffeinated beverages, Americans still prefer coffee. But that's changing.
Tea is one of the oldest beverages around, but its popularity is growing like a new product's. Total U.S. sales have almost quadrupled since 1990, according to the Tea Association of the USA.
You can now buy a range of ready-to-drink teas in even the most out-of-the-way convenience stores, and there's been a boom in premium and specialty products like chai tea.
That boom has forced the world's biggest tea company, Lipton's, to make changes to its products.
One of the biggest changes is to the venerable tea maker's tea bags: Now, they are shaped like three-dimensional triangles, in order to accommodate the long-leaf teas that appeal to purists and premium-tea fans. They're also made of mesh, so drinkers can watch the longer tea leaves unfurl when hot water is added.
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