History of TEA
Tea is often thought of as being a quintessentially British drink, and we have been drinking itfor over 350 years. But in fact the history of tea goes much further back.In the world, tea is second only to water in being the beverage of choice. It has many uses,such as to bring on sleep, restore good health, calm in times of stress, and simply add to theenjoyment of a solitary afternoon by the fire or a good old chinwag with friends. It can betaken hot or iced, plain or with lemon, milk or sugar, and drunk from a hefty mug.The word tea refers to the leaves or flower buds of the shrub
Camellia
sinensis and is knownas pure teas; however infusions can be made from steeping any leaves, berries, flowers, root, bark or seeds in boiling water. The Chinese first brought to light the pleasures of tea drinkingaround 4,000 years ago, and called it “the gift of heaven”. It was first referred to in thewritings of the emperor Shen Nung in about 2737BC, and legend has it that he insisted thathis drinking water always be boiled, as he had noticed that those people who did so appearedhealthier than those who did not. One day as the water was boiling, some leaves from anoverhead branch blew into the pot; he was attracted by the fragrance, drank it and voila! Thevenerable cup was born.The cultivation of tea gradually spread to Japan and the Far East, and was brought to Europein the sixteenth century by Portuguese merchants in Lisbon. It was transported by Dutchtraders who formed the Dutch East India Company, who began to trade directly with theOrient. It was taken in France in 1636 and Russia in 1638.As the popularity of tea drinkinggrew in England in the mid 1600s, that of beer and wine declined, minimizing tax revenue; to balance out this loss Charles II introduced the first English tea taxes in 1660. Thus the black market in tea took hold and flourished.3
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