We have to thank the expertise of the tea blender for giving our favourite drink its flavour. It also takes a great deal of skill to create the perfect chocolate, and to finish, a nice piece of cheese.

Tea Blending
Tea is one of the world’s favourite drinks and more than 3 million tonnes of black tea are produced each year. Tea is made from the leaves of a bush called Camellia sinensis, which are processed and dried after being picked. Most teas sold in western countries are blended – leaves from different areas are mixed together. This is usually done to ensure a consistency of flavour. Some teabags, for example, can contain more than 30 different teas.

The Irish drink more tea than anyone else in the world, followed by the British, who consume about 2.5 kg each every year – that’s equivalent to nearly 1000 teabags each.

Cheese
For most of us, cheese is something that is made from cow’s milk and comes in a sandwich with a dollop of pickle. But cheese can be made from the milk of many other animals, including goats, sheep, buffalo, reindeer and even camels.

In fact one of the world’s most expensive cheeses is made from moose milk on a farm in Sweden. It costs more than 900 euros for a kilogram. Scientists at Cranfield University in England used a special electronic nose to test an array of the world’s stinkiest cheeses and the title was awarded to Vieux Boulogne, a soft French cheese.

Chocolate
Chocolates are one of life’s little indulgences, but a chocolate truffle made by confectioner Fritz Knipschildt is probably beyond the reach of even the most avid chocoholic. The Madeleine weighs less than 50 grams and is made from the world’s finest chocolate paste shaped around a French truffle. A single Madeleine costs about 200 euros.

One of the world’s most expensive pure chocolates is the Italian-made Amedea Porcelana, which costs around 160 euros for a kilogram. The bitterness of chocolate depends on the proportion of cocoa in it. Top quality chocolate usually contains upwards of 60 per cent cocoa. But one type is 99 per cent pure cocoa – far too bitter for most people.