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Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, with almost 7 million tonnes grown, harvested, processed, and packaged annually. Whether you use loose leaf or tea bags, drink green tea or black, add sugar or cream, use it to stay awake or go to sleep, or consume it in solitude or with friends to share gossip, you are participating in the worldwide consumption of tea, which has created economic relations (and wars), new ecosystems for plants and animals (and humans), and is culturally significant in public and private spaces. In short, tea organizes people’s homes, government meetings, economies, investment markets, and landscapes. In this First-Year Seminar, we will examine the history and present-day production of tea and how it creates and recreates social relations and environments. In addition to learning about tea (and tasting different kinds), students will be exposed to research methodologies in the fields of sociology, anthropology, and communication studies. By the end of class, students will have an understanding of the different kinds of teas (and how to prepare them), the role tea plays in society, and how tea functions within ecosystems.