The Great Mental Models, Volume 2: Physics, Chemistry and Biology

by Shane Parrish

What is it about tea that allowed it to be replicated all over the globe? For starters, tea has an inherent flexibility. There are multiple ways to make and consume tea, which can be modified based on cultural norms and social desires. Different degrees of oxidization of tea leaves will produce green, oolong, or black tea. Each of these can flavored with different spices or milk, or whatever else is locally available. It lends itself to different brewing techniques based on local equipment and resources. But all outputs of seeping tea leaves in boiling water are uniformly called tea. So there is also a core structure that cannot be changed. Tea only comes from the tea plant. This combination of a firm concept within a flexible package is one clear explanation of how tea managed to spread from a tiny geographical location to have acolytes in almost every country on the planet.