The results are in! The top 10 tea producing countries in 2011 were:
1. China, 1.6 million tonnes
2. India, 1.0 million tonnes
3. Kenya, .4 million tonnes
4. Sri Lanka, .3 million tonnes
5. Turkey, .2 million tonnes
6. Vietnam, .2 million tonnes
7. Iran, .2 million tonnes
8. Indonesia, .1 million tonnes
9. Argentina, .1 million tonnes
10. Japan, .1 million tonnes
For those who like their measurements in pounds, a tonne is 2,200 pounds. So, China and India combined produced 5.7 BILLION pounds of tea last year. Holy Hot Beverage, Batman!
The top 10 country rankings are the same as they were in 2010 but Brazil dropped off the top 25 list and was replaced by Cameroon. I don't know if Brazil's output declined, but African output is increasing because its tea bushes are reaching the age of optimal production, says the Food & Ag Organization of the United Nations.
Data sources: FAOSTAT.com .
