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 Oolong Tea Drink Beaumont resident Rachel Gunther, who could be called an avid tea drinker, jokes that she enjoys drinking the beverage because she can put honey in it and that makes her "feel fancy."Maybe "feeling fancy" could be attributed to the Tea Association of the USA's recent report that tea sales have gone from $1.84 billion in 1990 to $6.85 billion in 2007. It predicts sales will exceed $10 billion in 2010. Local specialty shops, including Southern Magnolia Tea Room in Orange and Rao's Bakery, said tea sales here also have risen in recent years."It used to be, if we put out green tea people would say 'There's something wrong with your tea,'" said Tammie Hughes, a manager at Rao's on Calder Avenue, referring to the drink's light color. "But we've sold more iced green tea in the last few years than ever before."At Southern Magnolia Tea Room, 1627 Strickland Drive in Orange, owner Cathy Manshack said tea sales there have spiked since it first opened in 1999.At first, Manshack said, the tea room only served drinks and desserts, and coffee sales actually topped tea sales.Since then, Manshack said Southern Magnolia Tea Room has added a full lunch menu and customers seem to be taking advantage of the tea of the week.Why is tea suddenly trendy?Hughes said she thinks more people are aware of the antioxidants in tea and are drinking more in an effort to be healthy.TeaIndustry.com reported that one cup of tea and one serving of vegetables contain the same amount of antioxidants.Tea's healthy benefits is one reason W. Joe Deshotel stopped in Rao's Bakery Tuesday afternoon for a steaming hot cup of chamomile tea.Chamomile and roobios are two of Rao's most popular teas, Hughes said, but they're actually not teas.The drinks are "tisanes," or herbal infusions, made from flowers instead of tea leaves but are prepared the same way as tea, Hughes said.Flavored green teas are most popular at both stores, and Rao's owner Jake Tortorice said he is expecting Pu-erh tea to be the next big trend.The dark-reddish color drink, he said, sometimes has been aged for 80 years, and is known in China for its health benefits. According to the Tea Association, all tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. How the fresh leaves are processed and their level of contact with oxygen determine the type of tea. Green tea is not oxidized at all, black tea leaves are oxidized for two to four hours and oolong tea leaves are partially oxidized.Tea made from processed tea bags and from tea leaves have the same levels of antioxidants, but Tortorice said tea leaves generally make higher-quality drinks, have stronger tastes and can be used at least twice.A tip from Rao's: If you're enjoying your first ever cup of tea, don't use milk and lemon. Choose one or the other.