Origin And History

TEA Origin and history According to Mondal (2007, p. 519): "Camellia sinensis originated in southeast Asia, specifically around the intersection of latitude 29°N and longitude 98°E, the point of confluence of the lands of northeast India, north Burma, southwest China and Tibet. The plant was introduced to more than 52 countries, from this ‘centre of origin’." Based on morphological differences between the Assamese and Chinese varieties, botanists have long asserted a dual botanical origin for tea; however, statistical cluster analysis, the same chromosome number (2n=30), easy hybridization, and various types of intermediate hybrids and spontaneous polyploids all appear to demonstrate a single place of origin for Camellia sinensis — the area including the northern part of Burma, and Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China. According to this theory, tea plants in southeast Asia may have been the products of the 19th Century and 20th Century hybridizing experiments. Yunnan Province has also been identified as "the birthplace of tea...the first area where humans figured out that eating tea leaves or brewing a cup could be pleasant". Fengqing County in the Lincang City Prefecture of Yunnan Province is said to be home to the world's oldest cultivated tea tree, some 3,200 years old. Origin myths In one popular Chinese legend, Shennong, the legendary Emperor of China and inventor of agriculture and Chinese medicine was drinking a bowl of boiling water some time around 2737 BC when a few leaves were blown from a nearby tree into his water, changing the color. The emperor took a sip of the brew and was pleasantly surprised by its flavor and restorative properties. A variant of the legend tells that the emperor tested the medical properties of various herbs on himself, some of them poisonous, and found tea to work as an antidote. Shennong is also mentioned in Lu Yu's famous early work on the subject, Cha Jing. A similar Chinese legend goes that the god of agriculture would chew the leaves, stems, and roots of various plants to discover medicinal herbs. If he consumed a poisonous plant, he would chew tea leaves to counteract the poison. A rather gruesome legend dates back to the Tang Dynasty. In the legend, Bodhidharma, the founder of Chan Buddhism, accidentally fell asleep after meditating in front of a wall for nine years. He woke up in such disgust at his weakness that he cut off his own eyelids. They fell to the ground and took root, growing into tea bushes. Sometimes, another version of the story is told with Gautama Buddha in place of Bodhidharma. Whether or not these legends have any basis in fact, tea has played a significant role in Asian culture for centuries as a staple beverage, a curative, and a status symbol. It is not surprising, therefore, that theories of its origin are often religious or royal in nature.

A Ming Dynasty painting by artist Wen Zhengming illustrating scholars greeting in a tea ceremony

Lu Yu's statue in Xi'an

Illustration of the legend of monkeys harvesting tea. China The Chinese have consumed tea for thousands of years. People of the Han Dynasty used tea as medicine (though the first use of tea as a stimulant is unknown). China is considered to have the earliest records of tea consumption, with records dating back to the 10th century BC.

Laozi (ca. 600-517 BC), the classical Chinese philosopher, described tea as "the froth of the liquid jade" and named it an indispensable ingredient to the elixir of life. Legend has it that master Lao was saddened by society's moral decay and, sensing that the end of the dynasty was near, he journeyed westward to the unsettled territories, never to be seen again. While passing along the nation's border, he encountered and was offered tea by a customs inspector named Yin Hsi. Yin Hsi encouraged him to compile his teachings into a single book so that future generations might benefit from his wisdom. This then became known as the Dao De Jing, a collection of Laozi's sayings. In 59 BC, Wang Bao wrote the first known book with instructions on buying and preparing tea. In 220 , famed physician and surgeon Hua Tuo wrote Shin Lun, in which he describes tea's ability to improve mental functions. During the Sui Dynasty (589-618 AD) tea was introduced to Japan by Buddhist monks. Tea production in China, historically, was a laborious process, conducted in distant and often poorly accessible regions. This led to the rise of many apocryphal stories and legends surrounding the harvesting process. For example, one story that has been told for many years is that of a village where monkeys pick tea. According to this legend, the villagers stand below the monkeys and taunt them. The monkeys, in turn, become angry, and grab handfuls of tea leaves and throw them at the villagers. There are products sold today that claim to be harvested in this manner, but no reliable commentators have observed this firsthand, and most doubt that it happened at all. For many hundreds of years the commercially-used tea tree has been, in shape, more of a bush than a tree. "Monkey picked tea" is more likely a name of certain varieties than a description of how it was obtained. In 1391, the Ming court issued a decree that only loose tea would be accepted as a "tribute." As a result, loose tea production increased and processing techniques advanced. Soon, most tea was distributed in full-leaf, loose form and steeped in earthenware vessels.

Japan Tea use spread to Japan about the sixth century. Tea became a drink of the religious classes in Japan when Japanese priests and envoys, sent to China to learn about its culture, brought tea to Japan. Ancient recordings indicate the first batch of tea seeds were brought by a priest named Saichō (最澄?, 767-822) in 805 and then by another named Kūkai (空海?, 774-835) in 806. It became a drink of the royal classes when Emperor Saga (嵯峨天皇?), the Japanese emperor, encouraged the growth of tea plants. Seeds were imported from China, and cultivation in Japan began. In 1191, the famous Zen priest Eisai (栄西?, 1141-1215) brought back tea seeds to Kyoto. Some of the tea seeds were given to the priest Myoe Shonin, and became the basis for Uji tea. The oldest tea specialty book in Japan, Kissa Yōjōki (喫茶養生記?, How to Stay

Healthy by Drinking Tea), was written by Eisai. The two-volume book was written in 1211 after his second and last visit to China. The first sentence states, “Tea is the ultimate mental and medical remedy and has the ability to make one’s life more full and complete." Eisai was also instrumental in introducing tea consumption to the warrior class, which rose to political prominence after the Heian Period. Korea The first historical record documenting the offering of tea to an ancestral god describes a rite in the year 661 in which a tea offering was made to the spirit of King Suro, the founder of the Geumgwan Gaya Kingdom (42-562). Records from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) show that tea offerings were made in Buddhist temples to the spirits of revered monks. Taiwan Taiwan is famous for the making of Oolong tea and green tea, as well as many westernstyled teas. Bubble Tea or "Zhen Zhu Nai Cha" is black tea mixed with sweetened condensed milk and tapioca. Since the island was known to Westerners for many centuries as Formosa — short for the Portuguese Ilha Formosa, or "beautiful island" — tea grown in Taiwan is often identified by that name. Vietnam Vietnamese green teas have been largely unknown outside of mainland Asia until the present day. Recent free-enterprise initiatives are introducing these green teas to outside countries through new export activities. Types: •

Lotus tea is a specialty product of the Vietnamese tea industry. Generally, highquality green tea leaves are placed within lotus flowers for a day to acquire the scent, then are removed and packaged. A higher grade of lotus tea is made with lotus petals mixed in with high quality green tea leaves. Green tea style of Vietnam is to roll the leaves gently into crescents, and minimal handling.

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Vietnamese green teas are typically very potent. They are best brewed for most tastes for under 2 minutes using water temperature of 160°F. Beyond this time the tea will acquire a bitter taste that is nevertheless fancied by many tea lovers, as it reflects the potency of the tea leaves. Some fanciers will brew 3-4 times from one set of leaves, preferring the narrower flavor range of the later brewings.

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Jasmine tea is produced in two grades similar to lotus tea. Lotus tea is considered a specialty and is reserved for events or special meals. Jasmine tea is popular as a "chaser" for Vietnamese iced coffee, and is poured into the glass after the coffee is consumed, allowed to chill, and then enjoyed as a follow-up to the iced coffee in coffee shop cafes, particularly in the night life of major cities, where coffee shops are a popular social rendezvous on hot evenings.

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Artichoke Tea

Vietnamese teas are produced in many areas that have been known for tea-house "retreats". For example some are, located amidst immense tea forests of the Lamdong highlands, where there is a community of ancient Ruong houses built at the end of the 18th century. United Kingdom The importing of tea into Britain began in the 1660s with the marriage of King Charles II to Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza as she brought to the court the habit of drinking tea. On 25 September of the same year Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary: "I did send for a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never had drank before". It is probable that early imports came via Amsterdam or through sailors on eastern boats. Regular trade began in Guangzhou (Canton). Trade was controlled by two monopolies: the Chinese Hongs (trading companies) and the British East India Company. The Hongs acquired tea from 'the tea men' who had an elaborate supply chain into the mountains and provinces where the tea was grown. India Tea had been known for millennia in India as a medicinal plant, but was not drunk for pleasure until the British began to establish plantations in the 19th century. The Chinese variety is used for Darjeeling tea, and the Assamese variety, native to the Indian state of Assam, everywhere else. The British started commercial tea plantations in India and in Ceylon: "In 1824 tea plants were discovered in the hills along the frontier between Burma and the Indian state of Assam. The British introduced tea culture into India in 1836 and into Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1867. At first they used seeds from China, but later seeds from the Assam plant were used." Only black tea was produced until recent decades. India was the top producer of tea for nearly a century, but was displaced by China as the top tea producer in the 21st century. Indian tea companies have acquired a number of iconic foreign tea enterprises including British brands Tetley and Typhoo. While India is the largest consumer of tea worldwide, the per-capita consumption of tea in India remains a modest 750 grams per person every year. A lot of huge companies have emerged including 'Golden Tips Tea Co', and many other major brands that specialise and emphasize on Darjeeling tea and tourism in Darjeeling, one of the prime beautiful locations famous for tea.

Ceylon / Sri lanka Sri Lanka is renowned for its high quality tea and as the fourth biggest tea producing country globally, after China, India and Kenya (See the chart below) and has a production share of 9% in the international sphere, and one of the world's leading exporters with a share of around 19% of the global demand. The total extent of land under tea cultivation has been assessed at approximately 187,309 hectares.

Health Effect The possible beneficial effects of tea consumption in the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases have been demonstrated in animal models and suggested by studies in vitro. Similar beneficial effects, however, have not been convincingly demonstrated in humans: beneficial effects have been demonstrated in some studies but not in others. If such beneficial effects do exist in humans, they are likely to be mild, depending on many other lifestyle-related factors, and could be masked by confounding factors in certain populations. Another concern is that the amounts of tea consumed by humans are lower than the doses required for demonstrating the disease-prevention effects in animal models. Caution should be applied, however, in the use of high concentrations of tea for disease prevention. Ingestion of large amounts of tea may cause nutritional and other problems because of the caffeine content and the strong binding activities of tea polyphenols, although there are no solid data on the harmful effects of tea consumption. More research is needed to elucidate the biologic activities of green and black tea and to determine the optimal amount of tea consumption for possible healthbeneficial effects. In summary, the health benefits of tea have been shown in animal studies, but at doses much higher than regularly consumed by humans, at which dosage levels may prove to be harmful to health. Tea leaves contain more than 700 chemicals, among which the compounds closely related to human health are flavanoides, amino acids, vitamins (C, E and K), caffeine and polysaccharides. Moreover, tea drinking has recently proven to be associated with cell-mediated immune function of the human body. Tea plays an important role in improving beneficial intestinal microflora, as well as providing immunity against intestinal disorders and in protecting cell membranes from oxidative damage. Tea also prevents dental caries due to the presence of fluorine. The role of tea is well established in normalizing blood pressure, lipid depressing activity, prevention of coronary heart diseases and diabetes by reducing the blood-glucose activity. Tea also possesses germicidal and germistatic activities against various gram-positive and gram negative human pathogenic bacteria. Both green and black tea infusions contain a number of antioxidants, mainly catechins that have anti-carcinogenic, anti-mutagenic and antitumoric properties.