Canned tea is a relatively recent method of marketing tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 which has been sold traditionally as leaf

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 tea and also, for the last 100 years, in tea bag

Tea bag

A tea bag is a small, porous sealed bag containing tea leaves and used for brewing tea. Tea bags are commonly made of paper, silk or plastic. The bag contains the tea leaves while the tea is brewed, making it easier to dispose of the leaves, and performs the same function as a tea infuser...

 form. It utilises the canning

Canning

Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...

 process to produce a ready made drink

Drink

A drink, or beverage, is a liquid which is specifically prepared for human consumption. In addition to fulfilling a basic human need, beverages form part of the culture of human society.-Water:...

. Perceived advantages are ease of use (minimal or no preparation time) and the possibility of additives (such as flavours or sugar); the disadvantages are the cost of shipment (and therefore the price of the product) and a lack of freshness.

Tea

Tea is a beverage made by steeping processed leaves, buds, or twigs of the plant Camellia sinensis

Camellia sinensis

Camellia sinensis is the species of plant whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce Chinese tea. It is of the genus Camellia , a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. White tea, green tea, oolong, pu-erh tea and black tea are all harvested from this species, but are processed...

 in hot water for a few minutes. The processing can include oxidation (called "fermentation" in the tea industry), heating, drying and the addition of herbs, flowers, spices and fruits. There are four main types of tea: black, oolong, green, and white. Tea is a natural source of caffeine, theophylline, theanine, and antioxidants; but it has almost no fat, carbohydrates, or protein

Tea has been consumed in China for around 5,000 years.

Canning

Canning is a method of preserving food by heating it to a temperature that destroys contaminating microorganisms, and then sealing it in air-tight jars, cans, or pouches. Patented in the UK in 1810, this method of preservation was not used extensively for soft drinks until the pull tab version was patented in the USA in 1963

History

• ITO EN Ltd (Japan)
  • 1981 - First canned tea (oolong) launched
  • 1985 - First canned green tea launched.

Black tea

Black tea, the most oxidized of the four main varieties, is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less oxidized varieties. It is the traditional tea of the western world where it is known simply as "tea".

• Iced tea (unsweetened)
  Iced tea
  Iced tea is a form of cold tea, often served in a glass with ice. It may or may not be sweetened. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink. It can be mixed with flavored syrup, with common flavors including lemon, peach, raspberry, lime, passion fruit, and cherry...
  
   is an alternative to carbonated soft drinks, popular in many countries especially the hotter ones. One study has demonstrated that unsweetened canned black tea has a neutral to beneficial effect on dental health.
• Iced tea (sweetened)
  Sweet tea
  Sweet tea is a style of iced tea commonly consumed in the Southern United States. Sweet tea is made by adding sugar to bags of black tea brewing in hot water while the mixture is still hot, which allows for supersaturation of the solution, enabling the tea to hold more dissolved sweetener than...
  
   is popular mainly in the southern United States
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
   where it is ubiquitous and available freshly made, in bottles and cans or at self-serve soda fountain
  Soda fountain
  A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores...
  
  s. Sweet tea (also known as southern table wine) is brewed very strong with a large amount of sugar added while the tea is still hot. The mixture of sugar and tea is cooled, diluted with water and served over ice garnished with lemon. Alternatively, the sugar and tea mixture is not diluted but rather poured hot over a full tumbler of ice to cool and dilute it. Due mainly to its high sugar content, canned sweet tea has been proven to cause tooth decay.

Oolong tea

Oolong is a traditional Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 type of tea somewhere between green and black in oxidation. Although it has a taste more akin to green tea than to black tea, it does not have the stridently grassy vegetal notes that typify green tea. The best Oolong has a nuanced flavor profile. It is commonly brewed to be strong and bitter, yet leaving a faintly sweet aftertaste. The first commercially canned Oolong tea was available in Japan in 1981.

Green tea

Green tea has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. It is popular in China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, and the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

. Recently it has become more widespread in the West

West

West is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the left side of a map is west....

. The first commercially canned green tea was available in Japan in 1985. Subsequently, other brands have been launched in many countries due mainly to the claimed health and diet benefits of green tea.

Appeal

According to the trade journal Beverage Digest

Beverage Digest

Beverage Digest is a privately owned publication covering the global non-alcoholic beverage industry. It is free of advertising, relying on subscription revenue. The newsletter was founded in 1982 and publishes 22 regular issues a year...

, flavoured bottled water, sports drinks and teas, are increasing sales with the decline in sales of sugary soft drinks - with cold tea the fastest growing non-carbonated beverage category in the US during the first half of 2006. Canned green tea in particular has benefited from health claims arising from research findings .