Tea
The global average water footprint of made tea (black tea as we buy it in the shop) is 8860 litre/kg (Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2010, 2011). For a standard cup of tea we require 3 gram of black tea, so that a cup of tea requires 30 litres of water. A standard cup of tea (250 ml) thus requires 120 equal-sized cups of water.
India and China, the largest tea producing countries in the world, accounted for 51% of the global water footprint related to tea production in the period 1996-2005. The average water footprint of tea in India and China was 6470 and 11570 litre/kg, respectively (Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2010, 2011).
Publications
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2011 |
Mekonnen, M.M. and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2011) The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 15(5): 1577-1600. |
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1.2 MB |
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2010 |
Mekonnen, M.M. and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2010) The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products, Value of Water Research Report Series No.47, UNESCO-IHE. |
Main Report Volume 1
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1.2 MB |
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Appendices Volume 2
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9.7 MB |
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2007 |
Chapagain, A.K., and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2007) The water footprint of coffee and tea consumption in the Netherlands, Ecological Economics, 64(1): 109-118. |
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0.7 MB |
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2003 |
Chapagain, A.K. and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2003) The water needed to have the Dutch drink tea, Value of Water Research Report Series No.15, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands. |
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0.4 MB |
