According to tradition, China has been______ since the time of Shennong, 5,000 years ago.Britain's relationship with the invigorating brew is much______ , but the Beverage nonetheless enjoys pride of place as the UK's ______ . In fact, the UK Tea Council claims Britons drink an average of three cups a day, or a staggering national total of 165m cups every day.With figures like these it is no surprise that time spent taking tea ______ the working day of the British labor force. A recent survey found that 24 minutes a day are lost to making, ______ and drinking tea and coffee. This equates to 400 pounds (4,000 yuan) a year in lost man hours per employee, or ______ days over a lifetime.So, should employers be worried about this lost working time, or does the ______ compensate in other ways?One argument in its defence is that caffeine improves ______ : a drink of tea or coffee can perk you up and help you focus on work.Professor Rogers of the University of Bristol disagrees. After years of studying caffeine, he sees no ______ that it improves mental alertness.“Workers would perform ______ if not consuming it at all," he says." But if they're consuming it frequently and then go without, they'll ______ and won't perform well."Occupational psychologist Cary Cooper instead emphasizes the role breaks play in coping with sedentary office life, and in building ______ .＂We need to make people more ______ and see other people. The coffee break is one way of doing this," says Cooper.And Professor Rogers also points out the soothing effect of a ______ :＂We warm our hands on them on a cold day, they're ______ and play a big role in our everyday life.＂Whatever the caffeine's doing, I'd say these 24 minutes aren't wasted.