For as long as tea has been around people have been raving about its wonders. Behind many great intellectuals there’s a good cup of tea and compiled here are a few tea quotes from writers, philosophers, film makers and even politicians to brighten your day and inspire you to make yourself a cuppa…

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me" C.S Lewis.

"I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea" Fyodor Dostoevsky.

"There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life" Philosopher and inventor Lin Yutang.

"I was always brought up to have a cup of tea at halfway up a rock face"  Bear Grylls, adventurer.

"But indeed, I would rather have nothing but tea." ‘Mansfield Park’, Jane Austen.

"Wouldn’t it be dreadful to live in a country where they didn’t have tea?” Noel Coward .

"While there is tea, there is hope” 'Sweet Lavender’, by English Playwright Arthur Wing Pinero.

"Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea! How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea.” ‘A memoir of the Rev. Sydney Smith’, by English author Sydney Smith.

"No matter where you are in the world, you are at home when tea is served.” Earlene Grey, poet.

"Yes, that’s it! Said the Hatter with a sigh, it’s always tea time.” ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’, Lewis Carroll.

"I must drink lots of tea or I cannot work. Tea unleashes the potential which slumbers in the depth of my soul.” Leo Tolstoy.

"A simple cup of tea is far from a simple matter.” Mary Lou Heiss, American tea connoisseur.

"Coffee—a barbaric drink. That poor, tortured bean. All that fermenting and husking and roasting and grinding. And what is tea? Tea is dried leaves rehydrated. Just add water, Mrs. Strickland. All living things need water.” ‘The Shape of Water’, film by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro.

"Tea … is a religion of the art of life” Kakuzo Okakura, Japanese Scholar.

"For me starting the day without a pot of tea would be a day forever out of kilter". '$20,000' by Bill Drummond.

"No matter what is happening in your life, you always offer tea.” Clemantine Wamariya, human rights activist.

"If you are cold, tea will warm you up; if you are too heated it will cool you; if you are depressed, it will cheer you; if you are excited it will calm you.” William Gladstone.

"There are few nicer things than sitting up in bed, drinking strong tea, and reading.” Alan Clarke, English television and film director, producer and writer.

"My dear if you could give me a cup of tea to clear my muddle of a head I should better understand your affairs.” ‘Mrs. Lirriper’s Legacy’, Charles Dickens.