Chinese Tea History

The Chinese recognized the value of all tea centuries ago and even developed an elaborate ceremonial ritual for serving it.

Tea is served hot and tea is served cold. Tea is served at social gatherings and at kitchen tables all over the world. Herbal tea has taken its place in the world’s love affair with tea.

Chinese herbal medicine practitioners used the roots and/or leaves of a variety of medicinal herbs to brew tea as the primary method of delivering their healing properties to their patients.

It may be that mere fact of boiling the water (and thus purifying it) had a great deal to do with the healing powers that people thought ancient shamans possessed. Tea is always brewed by boiling the water used to make it.

Many of these brews were so bitter and tasted so vile that people refused to drink them.  The ancient shamans thus learned to add honey (honey is called the perfect food and is considered the nectar of the gods) or other herbs that were aromatic to make their concoctions taste better.
The Legend of Tea

Ancient myth suggests that tea came into existence about 5000 years ago.  The emperor, Shen Nung, ordered that all water must be boiled before it was used. Shen Nung was said to have been a wise ruler and an accomplished scientist.

One summer day, Shen Nung was out in the country side very distant from his palace and he and his court stopped to rest. According to Shen Nung’s orders, a servant began boiling water for the group to drink when some dried leaves from a nearby bush fell into it. The water immediately turned dark.

Because the emperor was a scientist, he was interested in the liquid and decided to taste it. He found it to taste good and be very refreshing and that, according to legend, is the way that tea was born.
Tea Goes Around the World

Tea and tea traveled from China to Japan when a Buddhist priest, Yeisei brought tea leaves with him when he returned to Japan. Yeisei is acknowledges as ‘The Father of Tea’ in Japan.
The Portuguese Jesuit, Father Jasper de Cruz was the first Westerner to write about tea in 1560.  Portugal was the most advanced maritime nation at the time the were first to establish trade with China and Japan.
From Portugal tea introduced tea to the rest of Europe. First the Dutch Navy embraced tea and from there it went to England.  Initially tea was very expensive and reserved for the wealthy. In today’s dollars, tea cost about $100 per pound. As trade and improved shipping developed supplies increased and the price fell. As it did tea became readily available to common people as well as the wealthy and they loved it.

Tea was a very popular for a while in France but they soon found they had more of a fondness for wine, strong coffee and chocolate.

In 1650, Peter Stuyvesant brought the first tea to the colonists in America at the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam (later re-named New York by the English).  Today teas of all sorts are enjoyed worldwide.

Herbal Teas Today

There are many different herbal teas to buy at most large grocery stores in America. Large international companies like Lipton now sell herbal teas. Chinese herbal teas can be bought in specialty shops and on the Internet, as well.

Brewing tea always begins with boiling water. The herbs are boiled and then steeped in the water in a closed container. The herbs are then strained out of the liquid and the tea is served hot or cold.