Iced teas have become a common choice of beverage in the U.S. They come in a form of packets, ready –to-drink bottles, fountain syrups, or freshly brewed. Nowadays, they can be found simply at any places that carry beverages, within my community would be; 711, Ralphs market, and a Walmart store. According to the report by Tea Association of the U.S.A Inc., Tea Fact Sheet –2013, Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water and can be found in almost 80% of all U.S. households. The statistic suggested that over 158 million Americans drink tea on any given day (Teausa.com, 2014). It should also be noted that over 65% of tea consumed in U.S. was prepared using tea bags. Furthermore, according to the article by Washingtonpost.com, Americans prefer iced tea than they do of hot tea. In particular more than 85% of tea consumed in the U.S. is chilled (Ferdman, “America is slowly-but surely-becoming a nation of tea drinkers”, 2014)
Tea is an evergreen plant that grows mainly in tropical and subtropical climate, commonly grown in the mountainous areas at around 3,000 – 7,000 feet above the sea level. Even though Americans love to drink tea, there are only a few states with a fitting climate condition and to produce them under allowable season. It is due to this factor that makes it harder for the U.S soil to mass-produce tea under its own soil. Thus, the high demands for tea have to be met by the method of importation from other countries such as Argentina, China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Taiwan.
The process of delivering tea from the foreign farms, to the factory, to the warehouse, and all the way to the consumers in the U.S. require all types of transportation including trucks, airplanes, ships and trains, all of which require fuel combustion. Combustion of coal or fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide and other