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History of Tea

Tea is nearly 5,000 years old and was discovered, as legend has it, in 2737 B.C. by a Chinese Emperor when some tealeaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water. In the 1600s, tea became popular throughout Europe and the American colonies. Since colonial days, tea has played a role in American culture and customs. Today American schoolchildren learn about the famous Boston Tea Party protesting the British tea tax -- one of the acts leading to the Revolutionary War. During this century, two major American contributions to the tea industry occurred. In 1904, iced tea was created at the World's Fair in St. Louis, and in 1908, Thomas Sullivan of New York developed the concept of tea in a bag.

Tea breaks down into three basic types: Black, Green, and Oolong. In the U.S., over 90 percent of the tea consumed is black tea, which has been fully oxidized or fermented and yields a hearty-flavored, amber brew. Some of the popular black teas include English Breakfast (good breakfast choice since its hearty flavor mixes well with milk), Darjeeling (a blend of Himalayan teas with a flowery bouquet suited for lunch) and Orange Pekoe (a blend of Ceylon teas that is the most widely used of the tea blends). Green tea skips the oxidizing step. It has a more delicate taste and is light green/golden in color. Green tea, a staple in the Orient, is gaining popularity in the U.S. due in, part to recent, scientific studies linking green tea drinking with reduced cancer risk. Oolong tea, popular in China, is partly oxidized and is a cross between black and green tea in color and taste. While flavored teas evolve from these three basic teas, herbal teas contain no true tealeaves. Herbal and "medicinal" teas are created from the flowers, berries, peels, seeds, leaves, and roots of many different plants.

STORY OF TEA began in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to legend, the Shen Nong, an early emperor was a skilled ruler, creative scientist, and patron of the arts. His far-sighted edicts required, among other things, that all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One summer day while visiting a distant region of his realm, he and the court stopped to rest. In accordance with his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the near by bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown liquid was infused into the water. As a scientist, the Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. Therefore, according to legend, tea was created. (This myth maintains such a practical narrative, that many mythologists believe it may relate closely to the actual events, now lost in ancient history.)

CHINA: Tea consumption spread throughout the Chinese culture reaching into every aspect of the society. In 800 A.D., Lu Yu wrote the first definitive book on tea, the Ch'a Ching. This amazing man was orphaned as a child and raised by scholarly Buddhist monks in one of China's finest monasteries. However, as a young man, he rebelled against the discipline of priestly training, which had made him a skilled observer. His fame as a performer increased with each year, but he felt his life lacked meaning. Finally, in mid-life, he retired for five years into seclusion. Drawing from his vast memory of observed events and places, he codified the various methods of tea cultivation and preparation in ancient China.