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The tea story
started in China around 2750 BC.
During this time, the tea plant was
found to have a number of medicinal
properties. Legend says that an
Emperor by the name of Shen Nung was
sitting in the shade of a wild tea
tree, boiling some drinking water,
when a breeze blew a few leaves from
the tree into the pot and gave the
water a flavor that he found
delicious. He experimented further
and found it to have medicinal
properties, as well as a pleasing
flavor. He urged the Chinese people
to cultivate the plant for the
benefit of the entire nation. Over
time, he has become the Legendary
Father of Tea.
In the early days of tea
consumption, the leaves were picked
and boiled in water to produce a
rather bitter brew. The leaves were
used primarily as a medicine and
secondly as a pleasurable drink. It
took over 3000 years for tea to
become a popular drink throughout
the Chinese empire. During the Tang
Dynasty (600-900 AD), the popularity
of tea was recognized by the
imposition of a tax. During the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644), steamed and
dried loose tea leaves became
popular; however, this style of
green tea did not keep or travel
well outside of China. In order to
protect their crop, Chinese
merchants started to roast their
leaves in order to prevent them from
rotting. The leaves that were left
in the air to oxidize produced black
tea (or red, as the Chinese call
it). This tea was manufactured
mainly for export, and the Chinese,
even today, continue to drink the
native green tea.
The Dutch were the first to drink
tea in Europe, shipping it in 1610,
with the introduction to Britain
around 1650. It arrived a few years
after coffee had reached England. It
was through the coffeehouses that
the new drink spread to the people.
In 1657, Thomas Garway, an English
proprietor, had the idea of offering
tea to the public, and it quickly
became the drink of choice, far
outpacing wines and liquors.
Unfortunately for the government,
Britain soon began to lose all the
taxes accompanied with the sale of
liquor. They quickly remedied the
situation, however, by imposing a
tax on tea. Nonetheless, it was not
until the early part of the next
century that it became a common
beverage for the upper and middle
classes. When the coffee shops
became too disreputable for
respectable people, it was in the
pleasure gardens of London that
royalty, aristocrats and ordinary
working people took tea.
In 1772, the tea tax was causing
problems in Great Britain’s colonies
in America. While many other taxes
on goods bound for America had been
repealed, the three pence per pound
of tea remained firm. It was in
place to offset the bankrupt British
East India Company. Over a five-year
period, the colonies paid duty on
almost 2 million pounds of tea.
Enraged by the tea tax and other
shipping restrictions, The Sons of
Liberty attempted to block the
shipments of tea from arriving in
Philadelphia and New York. On
December 16, 1773, The Sons of
Liberty let two ships sail into
Boston Harbor. Disguised as Native
American Indians, they emptied 342
large chests of tea into the harbor.
This later came to be known as the
Boston Tea Party. These actions by
the colonists led the Parliament to
pass a series of laws known as the
“Intolerable Acts”. They limited the
political freedom of the citizens
and ultimately led to the
Revolutionary War. In many ways, tea
helped provide a cause for American
independence.
During the 19th century, tea
drinking became an essential part of
British social life. Tea parties and
events were organized for all
possible occasions, including family
teas, picnic teas, tennis teas and
elegant afternoon teas. Over the
years, housekeeping manuals and
cookbooks gave clear instructions
about teatime invitations,
etiquette, methods of brewing and
serving, dress and tablewares. The
tea party was the very symbol of
elegance and prosperity.
Although the first tea was
discovered in China, several other
areas of the world now contribute to
the overall tea harvest. The first
tea used in England originated in
China, and it wasn’t until the 19th
century that tea growing spread to
Formosa and that indigenous tea was
discovered in Assam. In 1839, the
first Indian tea was sold in London.
The first tea in Africa was planted
in the Cape in 1687, but did not
progress until the latter part of
the 19th century. The 20th century
has seen the spread of tea in
Africa, notably in Kenya.
The history of tea dates back almost
5,000 years and tea itself now has
more than 3,000 different
variations. The most widely consumed
beverage in the world has both a
historical and cultural importance
that cannot be rivaled.
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