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History of tea

Tea has a long and eventful history. For centuries this beverage has been enjoyed across the world.

There are several legends about the invention of tea. Tea is first mentioned in a Chinese story from 2700 BC, the time of Emperor Shen Nung. He is said to have invented tea during one of his travels around the Chinese Empire. While taking a short rest, a few leaves fell off a shrub, straight into his cup of boiling drinking water. A lovely scent came up from the cup, and the curious emperor tasted the drink made by chance. The beverage did not only have a wonderful taste, but a refreshing, energizing effect as well. The emperor became so impressed by the new invention that he began to propagate the magic shrub. The first Chinese name of tea was ’te’ which then became ‘chia’.

Small Sail ship

Europe was introduced to tea in 1610, when the first tea freight arrived on a Dutch sailing ship. Tea import was limited for quite a while because journeys lasted very long. Sometimes the ships were on the way for nearly a year. As a result tea became a rather expensive product. During the 18th century tea become cheaper and therefore popular.

The biggest tea consumers of the world are the Irish, followed by the British on the second place only. But large quantities are drunk also in Japan and other Asian countries, such as Turkey, Syria and Iran. In Holland they drink a larger amount than, for instance, in India, the United States or Germany.

House of tea

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