A Brief History Lesson

The Legendary Origins of Tea

Like many things ancient, the history of tea is literally steeped (pun intended) in legend. Tea has been around a long, long time. Humans first discovered it about 5,000 years ago — and thankfully, we haven't looked back since. But how exactly did we get the ingenious idea that the leaves of this plant would make a good drink if we poured boiling water over it? I mean, we don't exactly go around pouring boiling water on every plant we encounter do we? No one really knows if all of what you're about to read is really true, but the stories are definitely entertaining — so read on.

The Divine Farmer

Perhaps the most widely acclaimed legend is about a Chinese emperor who is believed to have lived about 5,000 years ago (there is actually some controversy over whether he was actually an emperor at all, but we won't get into that). His name was Shen Nung or Shennong (literally, the "divine farmer") and he was famous for identifying the properties of hundreds of herbs (including poisonous ones) by personally tasting them. Some say his fascination with herbs turned his skin green and eventually killed him!

Legend has it that Shen Nung was boiling his drinking water — a common practice in China, even today — one day when a light breeze blew the dried leaves of a nearby shrub into his cauldron. When the liquid turned brown, the emperor’s curiosity was piqued. Of course, he couldn’t resist the urge to taste-test the interesting concoction. He claimed it was rather refreshing and urged others to try it. As it turned out, the mysterious leaf happened to come from what we now know as good old Camellia sinensis - the tea bush. The rest, as they say, is history.

Staying Awake

An alternative legend claims that an Indian prince named Bodhidharma was the one responsible for discovering tea in the 6th century. When visiting China to spread Buddhism, he apparently started chewing leaves from a bush in order to stay awake during some pretty intense medidation sessions.

There is a grisly variation to this myth that comes from Japan. The Japanese version claims that Bodhidharma was so frustrated with his efforts to stay awake that he literally ripped off his eyelids and threw them to the ground. Ouch. The first tea bush then miraculously sprouted in the spot where his eyelids fell.

Beyond the Legends — A Few Facts

Regardless of the myths surrounding tea's historical origins, there are a few things that historians generally agree on. For example, we do know that China is widely considered to be the birthplace of tea. Recorded mentions of tea date back to at least 1000 BC. Even the English word "tea" comes from the Chinese Amoy dialect word "te". The drink steadily gained popularity in China, thanks to the efforts of Shen Nung and others that followed. By the time of the Tang dynasty (618-906 AD), tea had become the national drink of China, slowly filtering its way down from royal circles to popular Chinese society.

In 780 AD, a seminal book called Ch’a Ching (Tea Classic) was published by a circus-clown-turned-tea-scholar named Lu Yu. This was the first exhaustive volume covering every aspect of tea - from cultivation methods and brewing guidelines to the art of appreciating tea. The elaborate tea ceremonies and rituals we read about today are all because of Lu Yu, who elevated tea drinking to an almost religious experience. The book quickly made Lu Yu a celebrity in China and he is revered today as the "Sage of Tea".

Tea Spreads to The West

While tea was flourishing as the beverage of choice in the far east, word about this remarkable drink still hadn't reached Europe. But all that was going to change. The 16th century was about to begin — and tea was getting primed to go global.

In the 1500s, Portugal was the dominant European trading partner with the far east. It's ships ruled the seas, and it is no wonder then, that Portugal had something to do with the advent of tea in the west.

In 1560, A Portuguese Jesuit missionary named Jasper de Cruz was the first person to write about his encounter with tea. Since the Portuguese had a global monopoly on the spice trade, they proceeded to develop (and own) a trade route through which tea was shipped to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. From Lisbon, Dutch ships then carried tea to the rest of Europe. So while the Portuguese did the dirty work, the Dutch were largely responsible for establishing the commercial viability of tea in Europe. The early teas shipped to Europe were expensive, making tea a drink for the elite.

The Brits Want In

In 1600, Queen Elizabeth I created a new company - The British East India Company - in order to compete with the Portuguese and Dutch over the lucrative trade routes to the Indies. In 1664, The British East India company placed its first commercial order for tea, giving rise to a drink that surged in popularity in the years to come. When tea was first introduced in England, it was a heavily taxed luxury item - reserved for use by royals and aristocrats. However, the demand for tea among the mass of "common folk" was growing (we all want luxury, don't we?). This gave rise to plenty of illicit smuggling of tea into England from Holland. Eventually, the taxes on tea were slashed so heavily by then Prime Minister William Pitt, that the smuggling almost completely ceased. The British East India company regained control (and profits) on all tea sold in England.

Tea In America - A Tea Party and a War For Independence

During the years of illicit tea smuggling, the profits of the British East India Company were hurt badly. Desperate to find a way to regain its financial position and avoid bankruptcy, it requested (and received) permission from the British government to export tea to its colonies - America being one of them. The Tea Act of 1773 gave the British East India company a monopoly over tea distribution in America. However, American colonists weren't too amused. The high taxation of tea outraged them, mostly because it undercut cheap, smuggled tea and gave all the tax revenues from tea back to Britain.

In December, 1773, a group of Americans, led by Sam Adams (the person, not the beer) calling themselves the "Sons of Liberty" boarded British ships in Boston and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor as a mark of protest. This defiant act, known later as "The Boston Tea Party" was one of the catalysts that sparked the American Revolution.

Tea Arrives in India: The Chinese Threat

In the early nineteenth century, tea consumption had increased dramatically in Europe, and the British East India Company had a monopoly on the distribution of Chinese tea. However, they were totally dependent on Chinese tea and felt ever threatened by the very real possibility of China closing all her ports to foreigners. In 1834, British parliament enacted a new charter for the company, and for the first time, the company's monopoly was threatened. According to the charter, The British East India Company was to administer India on behalf of the crown, but were no longer allowed to trade in tea with China. Desperate to find alternative sources of tea, it studied the possibility of cultivating tea in India.

Setting Up in Assam

The British East India Company sent a committee to India to establish India's tea industry. They surreptitiously collected tea seeds from China with the goal of transplanting them in India. The seeds were planted in Calcutta's (now Kolkata) Botanical Gardens and then sent to Assam for cultivation. Apparently, they didn't know that tea was actually native to India's Assam region, and they soon found out that the imported Chinese seeds didn't do very well in the harsh Assamese conditions, but a local bush seemed to thrive. Of course, it turned out that the local bush was tea (a close relative of the Chinese variety).

The company eventually decided to switch production to use the local tea plant rather than the Chinese imports. The first set of teas sent to England were well received by local tea houses and the Indian tea industry was born. Today, Assam is one of the largest producers of tea in the world.

The Darjeeling Experiment

After sucesfully establishing production in Assam, the company was searching for other suitable locations in which to plant tea. An experimental nursery was established in the Darjeeling district town of Lebong, a stones throw away from the town of Darjeeling. Some Chinese seeds were planted there and the results were very encouraging. Further experimentation occurred, both with imported Chinese seeds as well as the Assamese variety. Unlike in Assam, both the Assamese and Chinese seeds thrived in Darjeeling. At lower elevations, the Assamese plant seemed to do very well, while the Chinese plant excelled at higher elevations. Today, both varieties thrive in Darjeeling. Its teas are prized for their unique flavor and are one of the most valuable agricultural exports from India.