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Tea is one of the most popular beverages in history. It has been consumed by billions of people for thousands of years. Every year, over 2 billion cups are drunk around the world!
But where does this history begin? How did it come to be so widely loved? Let's take a look at how tea came to be what it is today.
Tea has been around for a long time. In fact, it has been consumed by humans for over 5,000 years. Tea was first discovered by accident when someone left some leaves out on a hot stove. Some of the best inventions come from a mistake or randomly, as shown below about tea.
The history of tea begins in Ancient China. Legend says that a Chinese Emperor named Shennong discovered tea around 2737 BC while boiling water to make drinking water safe. He noticed the leaves from nearby came floating down into his pot and he found they added an interesting flavor to the water which made it more enjoyable to drink.
He began using these same leaves in all his boiled water thereafter. At some point, people started drying out the leaves and mixing them with other herbs like ginger or mint before adding hot water for consumption (this is how we got teabags). It was also used as a medicine during this time because harvesting fresh tea required stripping whole branches off tea trees that grew in the area.
From then on, many cultures around Asia have adopted this beverage into their diets for its medicinal qualities, which include reducing inflammation and lowering cholesterol levels.
China is known for its variety of tea. The history of tea in China can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty (1600 - 1050 BC) where it was used for medicinal purposes like health, longevity, and spiritual enlightenment.
The major types of early teas were white and green teas originating from Fujian province (white) and Hunan Province (green). It seems likely these would've spread throughout Asia shortly after their creation due to how quickly they can grow compared to other plants- even today you'll find them all through Japan and Korea.
Other cultures around Asia, including Japan, India, Thailand, and South Korea have their own history with tea dating back thousands of years ago. India has a history about 5000 years old involving Buddhism & tea drinking as part of their religious practices.
Tea spread from China to Japan and Korea (where it is still very popular) but didn’t make its way to the Middle East or Europe until around 600 years ago. It was first used as a medicinal drink for all kinds of different ailments before becoming more widely consumed in these other areas.
Tea has become an important drink in Japan. There's a history of tea drinking in Japan from as early as the 12th century. In fact, there was even a set way to drink tea called 'Chanoyu' - meaning “hot water for tea”, which is still practiced today and has its roots dating back over 600 years ago.
Tea ceremonies are very elaborate affairs associated with special occasions such as weddings or cultural events/holidays like Baisakhi (a Punjabi holiday celebrating new beginnings). It typically involves serving Matcha green tea using ceramic wares, thin porcelain bowls & cups, small plates, flat trays, and cloths, all following strict rules about where each item should be placed on these different pieces of furniture.
Tea has also spread wide and far from its beginnings in China. It was first introduced to Japan by Buddhist priests traveling from China and then spread quickly through the rest of Asia.
The history of tea is fascinating, with its origins in Western Asia (around present-day India & Pakistan), moving on to Eastern Asia (Japan) before making an appearance in Europe about which there are many theories as to how it arrived here.
Tea has gone beyond just a drink - it's become something that can be appreciated aesthetically; studied by historians for clues about history itself; used practically as medicine or even made into art via ceramics and other forms of artistic expression.
This is just one part of the history of tea, since it has since spread throughout the world. We recommend you finish your next cup with thoughts about one of these ancient types of tea- maybe Lapsang Souchong or Darjeeling Black Tea?
Read about how tea started to move into the UK, US, and beyond in part 2
