3. History of Tea

1.What is Tea?
2.The Tea plant
4. Tea sorts and their Production
5. Tea grades
6. Tea regions
7. How to brew a perfect cup of Tea
8. Tea and Health

China - the birthplace of Tea

The legend goes that in 2737 BC the Chinese emperor Shen Nong discovered tea. While resting on a journey a leaf from a wild tea bush fell into a cup with boiled water for him. He drank from the cup and found it refreshing and healing.
In the beginning tea was used as medicine (against head ache, weariness, rheumatism, to improve eyesight and various other things). It took a few centuries before the entire versatility of tea was discovered. Around 400 BC it became a custom to serve tea to guests.
The first written mention of tea dates back to 221 BC. The Chinese government levied a tax for tea which means that tea must had been relatively widespread and common at the time.
The first known book about tea was published in 780 AC by the Chinese Lu Yu called "Cha Ching" (The classical book of tea). He describes the origin, cultivation and the use of tea. For centuries this book became the basic study about Chinese tea.
At this time until around the 9th century the plucked tea leaves were pressed into round or brick shaped forms and dried afterwards in the sun (this method is still practised in Tibet today). With this method tea was preserved and also brought into a dense consistency which was important for the caravan trade.
One recipe to make tea, from the above mentioned tea book, was to roast a piece of tea brick until it is redish in colour, crumble it into little pieces, pour boiling water over it and add onion, ginger and orange.
Tea was so highly valued that tea bricks were also used as payment especially for tax contributions to the Emperor.
In the first centuries of the its history tea was still only for the rich. It was not until 4th - 7th century that tea became affordable to every Chinese and displaced wine as the most popular beverage.

A change in the way to prepare and drink tea was made during the Sung dynasty (9.-13. century). This period is also called the "Chinese Teaism". It was characterized by a refinement of the Chinese tea ritual and an improved tea cultivation. Now tea was dried after plucking and pulverized in a mortar. In the Chinese tea ceremony the powder tea was whisked with a bamboo beater until frothy (still used in the Japanese tea ceremony today). It was necessary to drink it "through the foam" because the tea powder does not disolve in water and would otherwise settle down to the bottom of the cup.
Tea competitions became part of the ("higher") social life were the contestants had to guess the various tea sorts.
The Chinese tea culture was booming, tea gardens were planted, some only to contribute the finest teas, plucked by virgins in the early morning mist, to the Chinese Emperor.
Tea became a symbol of purity and a way to self-knowledge. The history of tea and Chinese Zen-Buddhism became inseparable. Zen monks discovered tea as the ideal drink to accompany long sessions of meditation. It satisfied the most urgent hunger feeling and helped concentration. In the monasteries different tea schools developed and there was interaction between them in China.
Monks brought Philosophy and tea to Japan and Japanese monks came to China to study Zen-Buddhism.

The Sung dynasty was overthrown by Mongolian invaders. During the following Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) powder tea and tea ceremony lost their (social) importance. Instead of a complicated ritual a new, quicker method was introduced: the brewing of tea.
It is more or less the same way we make our cup of tea today by pouring hot water over the preparred green leaves. At this time tea was drunk by most Chinese people and the brewing technique was generally accepted.

Until today most Chinese drink green tea in the traditional cup (wide open without handle) without sugar or milk. There are hundreds of different teas in China and each tea comes in various qualities.

Tea in Japan

The habit of tea drinking and the tea seeds came from China brought by Zen monks in the Nara era (710-784). It is also said that there were native tea trees in Japan already.
From the beginning tea was part of the Japanese Zen-Buddhism and was made known by monks. They cultivated and propagandized tea, especially the healing effects of tea drinking to the Japanese people.
The first tea gardens were planted by monks in the Uji area (end of 12th century), near Kyoto, renown until today for its excellent quality.
In the beginning the tea was often reserved for the emperor and the gardens were walled in so that no look of an ordinary man would soil the tea.
In Zen monasteries the preparing and making of tea developed into a religious ritual later known as the "Japanese tea ceremony".
It was not only the tea plant which monks brought from China it was the entire tea culture e.g. philosophy, science and art (design, painting, calligraphy, poetry).
In the 14th/15th century tea competitions which followed the Chinese example became very popular in Japan. They often were sumptuous parties to show off the wealth of the host. This provoked the criticism of the Buddhist clergy and the government forbade those kind of events. A new aesthetics of the tea ceremony developed. No pomp or luxury rather simplicity and naturalness. This was the true way of tea, the "Cha-do".
Amongst others Sen no Rikyu (1521-1591) developed the ceremony to perfection. He designed tea rooms, tea gardens and deepened the philosophical meaning of the entire "way of tea".
Japanese teaculture emancipated in the 14th/15th century from the Chinese one and the "Japanese teaism" was born.

Until today there are a number of different tea schools in Japan with tea masters teaching their version of the "Cha-do". The simple and clear style of the tea way also influenced, and still does, Japanese architecture, art and design (especially garden design).
For daily use the Japanese traditionally prefer green leaf tea (in contrast to the tea powder used in the ceremony). For Europeans it is often not easy to get to like the taste of Japanese green tea. Often described as tangy, even fishy and quite bitter it is more a result of the wrong way to prepare and brew the tea (especially water temperature and brewing times) than the real taste.

The first tea to be drunk in Europe was Japanese green tea. Dutch merchants brought silk, porcelain and tea powder to Europe where these goods fetched high prices.

Tea in Europe

The first time tea was mentioned in Europe was around 1559 in a book published in Venice. It was a report about the Chinese tea habits. At this time there was already trade with the Far East mostly controlled by Portugiese ships. They introduced exotic products like pineapples, oranges, coffee and indigo dye long before tea arrived. Then between 1600-1610 (date depending on the source) Dutch ships brought Japanese green powder tea for the first time to Europe.
For the next 50 years Holland controlled the tea trade. They had declared independence from Portugal and displaced it as the ruling trade power in Europe.
First tea was used as medicine and could be bought together with things like sugar, ginger or spices in pharmacies. Due to its expensive price tea was originally consumed by aristocracy. Eventually as price declined due to faster trading routes and higher quantities it was enjoyed by virtually every class in the Dutch society. From Holland tea spread throughout Europe.
The introduction of tea had it's biggest impact in England (sold for the first time in 1657). Why did England become a nation of tea drinkers?
The Portuguese wife of King Charles II, Catharina of Braganza played an important role. When they got married in 1662 she introduced tea as a beverage to the English court and soon the royal afternoon tea was established. Whoever could afford to buy tea tried to copy the royal habits so the demand for tea increased all the time. Soon England opened tea trade with China through the East Indian Company. Founded in 1600 it had a monopoly over all activities with the Far East (ended in 1833).
At the time the Chinese trade rules for tea were very strict. Foreigners were not allowed to enter China so the entire trade took place in the South Chinese town of Canton. The tea was expensive, limited and controlled by the Chinese. Soon English merchants illegally started to trade opium from the Indian colonies for tea. As a result opium was introduced to Chinese society and quickly became very popular. A widespread addiction weakened the Chinese society and the Gouverment started to confiscate and burn opium. The matter escaleted and led finally to the so called "Opium war" (1839-1842). As a result the Chinese tea monopoly was broken, Honkong fell to Britain and China had to open five sea ports for trade.
The tea consumption in England increased significantly and everybody was finally able to afford the cup of tea.
Another reason why tea became so popular is that it came at the right time to replace gin and beer as the beverage of the lower classes.
In the new industrial era with a new protestant work ethic it made a difference when you started the day with a cup of tea rather than a jug of beer.

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