NEW YORK CITY – Almost against all odds, tea has been quietly gaining ground in coffee-obsessed America, the Washington Post reports. With more studies coming out touting the health benefits of tea — black, green, puerh, oolong and white — the beverage has shown a steady rise in converts. Around the world, tea is the second-most-drunk beverage, after water.

Annual grocery store sales of tea topped $2.2 billion, with tea purchases soaring for the past two decades. According to the Tea Association of the USA, the consumption of tea outside the home has increased by at least 10% annually since 2003. On an average day, 160 million Americans pour themselves a cup of tea.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that tea consumption has risen while coffee drinking has dropped. Per-person tea consumption jumped to 9 gallons in 2009, up from 7.3 gallons in 1980, while per-person coffee consumption fell to 23.3 gallons in 2009, a decline from the 26.7 gallons in 1980.

At Capital Teas in Washington, D.C., co-owner Manelle Martino is riding a wave of interest in tea. Sales of loose-leaf tea at her shop have blossomed each year. “We started the tea company with one shop. Now, there are six stores in the D.C. area,” she said. “People are becoming more health-conscious. You have baby boomers who are into preserving their youth. You see them wanting to take better care of themselves.”