Historical Significance and Origins of Tea
The history of tea is very varied and rich. There is a very famous story which says that the Chinese ruler Shennong in 2737 BC was boiling water when some leaves growing in the nearby bush accidentally fell in the water and the colour of the water changed. The inquisitive emperor tasted the coloured water. There is another myth which is about Gautama Buddha. It is said that one day while mediating he fell asleep. He became very upset because of this he cut off his eyelids and later buried them. It is said that from this the first tea plant grew and that is why the leaves looked like eyelids.
Tea was also used in the dynasty of the Confucius and is also said to be popular in the times of the Han Dynasty in 206 BC to 220 AD. The tea is said to have become very famous by the 3rd century and was called as ch’a. After becoming so famous the tea became the national drink of China during the rule of the Tang dynasty. In the 8th century the first book on tea was written by Lu Yu. The book had content on the way to make tea and how should one drink it. Around this time some Buddhist monks came to study in China and after this the drink became very popular in Japan also.
The Europeans discovered the drink in the 16th century after they got it as gifts from the Portuguese and the Dutch. Tea had a heave tax so it could not be afforded by the poor people. In 1784 the tax was reduced and after this the tea became affordable for the masses. By 1901 the consumption of tea increased and around this time only tea bags were introduced. Till date tea is a very popular drink in Britain.
Most of the tea drinkers use tea bags but many people who are tea purist prefer the tea made from loose leaves tea. The advantage of using the loose tea leaves is that it helps the drinker make it according to his taste and preferences. There are many varieties of teas available like black tea, white tea and green tea. Different teas have to be brewed in a different way and the correct temperature to drink also varies from tea to tea. The taste can be ruined if either is changed.
