Tea

Tea is a caffeine-containing beverage, an infusion made by steeping the dried leaves or buds of the shrub Camellia sinensis in hot water for a few minutes. In addition, tea may also include other herbs, spices, or fruit flavours.

History

Tea creation myths

• In one story, Gautama Buddha is said to have discovered tea, when a falling tea leaf happened to land in his cup one day as he sat meditating in a garden.
• Another story has it that Bodhidharma cut his eyelids off so that he wouldn't fall asleep while meditating, and the first tea plants sprang up from the ground where he flung the severed eyelids.
• In yet another story Shennong (the legendary Emperor of China and founder of Chinese medicine) was on a journey, when a few leaves from a wild tea tree fell into his hot water. He tasted the mixture out of curiosity and liked its taste and its restorative properties. He then found that tea leaves eliminated numerous other poisons from the body. Because of this, tea is considered one of the earliest Chinese medicines.

Origin and dissemination of tea

The tea plant has been traced to China and possibly Southeast Asia; historically the origin of tea as a medicinal herb useful for staying awake is unclear. China is considered the birthplace of tea drinking with recorded tea use in its history to at least 1000 B.C. The use of tea as a beverage drunk for pleasure on social occasions dates from the Tang Dynasty or earlier. For its later uses, see below. The Tang dynasty writer Lu Yu 陆羽's Cha Jing 茶经 is an early work on the subject.

Related Topics:
Herb - Tang Dynasty - Below - Lu Yu

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As the Venetian explorer Marco Polo failed to mention tea in his travel records, it is conjectured that the first Europeans to encounter tea were either Jesuits living in Beijing who attended the court of the last Ming Emperors; or Portuguese explorers visiting Japan in 1560. Russia discovered tea in 1618 after a Ming Emperor of China offered it as a gift to Czar Michael I of Russia.

Related Topics:
Marco Polo - Europe - Portuguese - Japan - 1560 - Michael I of Russia

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Soon imported tea was introduced to Europe, where it quickly became popular among the wealthy in France and the Netherlands. English use of tea dates from about 1650 and is attributed to Catherine of Braganza (Portuguese princess, and queen consort of Charles II of England).

Related Topics:
Europe - France - Netherlands - English - 1650 - Catherine of Braganza - Portuguese - Queen consort - Charles II of England

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See also: History of tea in China

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Exploitation, supply and demand

The high demand for tea in Britain caused a huge trade deficit with China. The British set up tea plantations in colonial India to provide their own supply. They also tried to balance the trade deficit by selling opium to the Chinese, which later led to the First Opium War in 1838–1842.

Related Topics:
Trade deficit - Plantation - Colonial - Opium - First Opium War

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The Boston Tea Party was an act of uprising in which Boston residents destroyed crates of British tea in 1773, in protest against British tea and taxation policy. Prior to the Boston Tea Party, residents of Britain's North American 13 colonies drank far more tea than coffee. In Britain, coffee was more popular. After the protests against the various taxes, Americans stopped drinking tea as an act of patriotism. Similarly, Britons slowed their consumption of coffee.

Related Topics:
Boston Tea Party - Boston - 1773 - 13 colonies - Coffee

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These days, contradicting tea economies do exist. Tea farmers in the Republic of Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China often enjoy better incomes compared to farmers in black tea producing countries.

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