Good news for all those tea lovers out there, with scientific research proving that tea is second only to water in terms of contributing to your recommended daily fluid intake, meaning that we can choose tea over the two litres of water recommended in our daily diet.

This was just one of the many extraordinary facts about the much-loved national beverage discussed recently at Lyons Tea Master Class in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel where tea expert Justin Panton conducted a tea tasting session. The event followed a report in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition which found that drinking at least three cups of tea a day is as good for you as drinking glasses of water.

Good news all around for Irish people who are deemed to be amongst the biggest tea drinkers in the world, with the average person drinking around four cups per day, an estimated extraordinary 3,000 litres of tea per person every year.

But what about the dreaded caffeine? Well, a standard cup of tea contains less than half the level of caffeine of a typical cup of coffee. Up to 300mg/ day (6 cups of tea) is considered moderate consumption of caffeine, with no evidence of harmful effects in the vast majority of the adult population.

Significantly, research has shown that the low levels of caffeine in tea do not cause dehydration and that the levels of caffeine found in tea actually provide us with a mental and physical boost. And, there are additional benefits. Tea, when served without milk or sugar, contains virtually no calories and if you are trying to lose weight, can be a good substitute for sweetened beverages.

Leading blender Lyons has more than a hundred year’s tradition in Ireland having begun business in Dublin in 1902 close to Christ Church Cathedral. It is now owned by Unilever Ireland and recently launched a new advertising campaign focussing on the extraordinary qualities of tea, particularly its naturalness, and highlighting the fact that there is nothing added but wind, rain and sunshine.