Tea is the name of a brew obtained from leaves and buds of plants of the same name. The word from which the name of tea derives originated in China. It is one of the signs of the local alphabet, which can be read in two ways - “te” or “cha” – the way of reading depends on the dialect. The first pronunciation has become the word-formation basis in the West European languages. The English word “tea” and German “Tee” derive from it. “Te” is also the basis of the Polish word “herbata”, which is the cluster of two Latin words – “herba”, i.e. herb, and “thea”, which was used to refer to a tea tree. The second Chinese pronunciation has influenced the Eastern European and Middle Eastern languages, e.g. it is the basis of the Russian word “chai”.
