What Is The Most Consumed Beverage In The World?

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If you had to guess, what drink would you say is the most popular drink in the world? Would it be coffee? Everyone needs their daily caffeine jolt, after all. Would you say beer?  It's been around since the ancient Egyptians and sales don't seem to have slipped much since then. Could it be Coke? After ditching the cocaine it once contained, this soda's gone on to conquer the world. Surprise, the beverage on everyone's lips (and down their throats) is water. It accounts for over half of the planet's liquid consumption.

You'd be justified in thinking, "Boo, trick question." Water really is too obvious of an answer. For one thing, it's free in some parts of the world unless you absolutely have to have one of the pricier types of water sold at the grocery store. You know, the fancy kind that's enhanced with alkaline, electrolytes, gold flakes, or whatever else they're putting in the stuff these days. Another reason water's so ubiquitous is you usually need it to make things, from Kool-Aid to soup.

Even so, water does have its issues. Water pollution has been a thing ever since the first animal pooped by a riverbank. These days, there are additional complications like cities with lead pipes. (Thank you, century-old city planners in Milwaukee, for making my days a sorcerer's apprentice-like round of constantly emptying and refilling my water pitcher.) Despite these issues, there really is no replacement for water as a low-cost, ultra-hydrating drink that's good for pets and people alike and recommended by 100% of aquatic creatures.

Coming in second place with a sizable share of the world's beverage consumption is tea. On average, 3.8 million tons of tea leaves are consumed every year. Turkey is the top tea consumer per capita, with Ireland in second place. The United Kingdom is no slouch, either. Brits drink 100 million cups of tea daily, or 36 billion cups each year.

Coffee, of course, comes right behind tea. Oddly enough, it's way more popular in Europe than it is here in the United States. 9 out of the 10 top coffee-consuming countries are on the continent (with Finland in first place). Canada slides in for 10th place. The United States, surprisingly, is way down at number 25. Rounding out the list of world's most-consumed beverages — and reminding us that children make up approximately one-quarter of the planet's population — are soft drinks of all types (Coke included) and milk (including non-dairy alternatives).

An interesting side note: Out of all these beverages, only dairy milk doesn't require water as an ingredient. Even this statement isn't technically true, since water needs to go into the cow in order for milk to come out. Or for the cow to go on living, for that matter. Water, not booze, is the real "aqua vitae," although it would be redundant to use this appellation since it translates to "water of life."