Tea looks gentle — hot leaf water in a nice cup — and yet it has financed empires, launched a revolution, and inspired at least one international heist. Fifteen questions. Cover the answers, commit before each reveal, and keep score honestly, even on the milk one.

Green, black, oolong, and white tea all come from how many plant species?

One — Camellia sinensis. The differences come entirely from how the leaves are processed and oxidized.

So what is chamomile or peppermint «tea», technically?

Not tea at all — it's a tisane, an infusion of some other plant. Purists have been dying on this hill for centuries.

Why do some languages say «tea» and others say «cha»?

Trade routes. Words from the Dutch sea trade out of coastal China gave the world «tea»; the overland Silk Road spread «cha». Tea if by sea, cha if by land.

According to Chinese legend, how was tea discovered?

Around 2737 BC, leaves supposedly blew into water being boiled for Emperor Shennong. A legend, not a fact — but it's the origin story tea has kept for millennia.

Who made tea fashionable in England?

Catherine of Braganza, the Portuguese princess who married King Charles II in 1662 and brought her tea habit to court. England's defining drink arrived as an import twice over.

How did Britain break China's monopoly on tea growing?

Botanical espionage. In the late 1840s, Scottish botanist Robert Fortune traveled China in disguise and smuggled out tea plants and processing secrets for the East India Company — seeding India's tea industry.

How much tea went into Boston Harbor in 1773?

342 chests — roughly 46 tons, worth well over a million dollars in today's money. History's most expensive brewing accident, done on purpose.

Milk first or tea first — and where did milk-first likely come from?

The common story: pouring milk first protected delicate porcelain from cracking. George Orwell weighed in with a 1946 essay insisting on tea first. The war continues.

What goes into Tibetan butter tea?

Tea churned with yak butter and salt — high-altitude fuel that's closer to soup than to your afternoon cuppa.

Which country drinks the most tea per person?

Turkey — roughly three kilograms per person per year, comfortably ahead of Britain.

Where does tea rank among the world's most consumed drinks?

Second — only water beats it.

What is reading the future in tea leaves called?

Tasseography. The leaves have no opinion, but the word is worth points at any quiz night.

What did the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair do for tea in America?

It popularized iced tea — a sweltering summer crowd took to the chilled version, and America never really looked back at the hot kind.

What is famously special about Da Hong Pao from the original mother bushes?

Its price — small lots from those few ancient Chinese bushes have sold for well more than their weight in gold.

In 1866, ships racing 14,000 miles from China to London competed in what?

The Great Tea Race — clippers sprinting the season's first tea home for a premium. After three months at sea, the leaders docked about half an hour apart.

If you got tea-by-sea, cha-by-land and the botanist in disguise, you may pour for the whole table — milk in whichever order you please.