Tea has been the alternative to water for some time. Common sense will indicate that it may very well be second only to water. And aside from taking on the appeal of luxury, it has gained utmost respect from many cultures as an established tradition. It is also the forerunner beverage for New Agers and a conscious alternative for recovered coffee addicts. Its popularity as a healthful drink with little to no side effects has made it a plentiful blessing to global well being.

Typical tea requires zero sugars, and can be considered an additive more than a necessity. Unlike coffee, tea, good tea, can be taken completely by itself, even by less experienced drinkers with a smaller palate. It can be significantly less bitter, with very little aftertaste. But even the slightest aftertaste can be a boon for experienced drinkers, because refined palates are generally able to detect more varieties in the brew. Let this be advice for those who denounce tea: like all things, it takes getting used to; and from that point onward, the taste only gets better. Like coffee, taste becomes better with experience.

Unlike coffee, tea has few disadvantages to health. This has been the primary reason for the immense popularity of tea. Again, it is, after all, next to drinking plain water in texture and flavor. It is one of the few casual drinks to be widely taken with sugars or any other unflattering additives. Compare casual tea-drinking with, say, sodas, and the sugar intake is significantly less. It is also popular to take sugar and cream with coffee. With tea, very little interferes with the core brew. Depending on the leaves being steeped, a standalone cup of tea can become a very complimentary routine to one's diet.

There are two popular varieties of tea leaves, black and green. For the deeply health conscious, black tea is generally considered to have fewer benefits. It's the closest casual tea that will resemble coffee, as it contains about a third of the caffeine of a typical mug of coffee. It is also the only variety of tea that can match coffee's bitterness and aftertaste. The issue with black lea leaves is that, due to the manufacturing of the leaves, it ends up being oxidized more than its lighter counterparts, like green tea. It is this process of oxidation that lowers the nutritive properties of the drink, properties like antioxidants, as well as vitamins. There is also the still unproven, but not yet disproven, belief that quality tea reduces signs of aging. This can be suggested by yet another quality of tea: studies show that it may be able to aid in rebuilding and regenerating cells in the human body. It may also be able to disrupt cell growth in harmful bacteria.

Thus, depending on the brew of tea one may drink, the conclusion becomes clear that tea offers a bounty of benefits, both physically and, perhaps, cosmetically. After all, it hasn't gained widespread popularity for now good reason.