history_of_tea

8/7/2019 history_of_tea

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A B R I E F H I S T O R Y O F T E A

ZX

Tea is a beverage made by steeping processed leaves,

buds or twigs of the tea bush Camellia sinensis

in hot water for a few minutes. The processing

can include oxidation (fermentation), heating, drying and

the addition of other herbs, flowers, spices and fruits.

T H E C H I N E S E

The Chinese were the first civilized culture to drink tea,

cultivate tea, mix tea and philosophy, religion, art, and

poetry, and the first to write about tea. They were the first to

process green, oolong, and black teas and the first to tax teas

and to use tea as money.

At first, tea was consumed for its perceived medicinal value,

but by 500 A.D. at the latest it was consumed more for enjoy-

ment than health.

780 AD - Lu Yu, an educated eccentric with a colorful his-

tory, wrote the Cha Ching, which was the first book about

tea and it became a major Taoist religious work as well.

During the next 400 years, tea and tea culture blossomedin China. New ways of preparing tea, serving tea, and

storing tea were invented. Then, a terrible thing happened.

The Mongols invaded, causing not only much destruction

of life and property, but also the destruction of Chinese

culture, which was in full bloom.

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T H E J A P A N E S E

The Japanese Tea Ceremony of today is one of the deepcultural gifts of the cultural rebirth, and shows how deep

tea flows in both the spirit of the Japanese, and how much

the history of tea influences the present Japanese mindset.

Shomu, the Japanese Emperor, gave tea as a gift to 100

Buddhist monks who attended a Buddhist conference at his

palace in 729 A.D.

This growth of tea culture grew until the tenth century,

when political and military turmoil became increasingly

severe. But as in China, when things became violent, the

focus moved from things cultural and beautiful to more

practical matters.

Then in 1191, Japans tea hero arrived. Eisai, a Buddhist

monk, returned to Japan from China. He simultaneously

introduced Zen Buddhism to Japan and started a cultural

renaissance centered on tea. He wrote the first Japanese

book about tea, mixing the Zen Buddhist religion with tea

and tea culture.

The most important product of the tea renaissance was the

Japanese Tea Ceremony. Developed and perfected in the

1400s and 1500s, the Japanese Tea Ceremony is a very sim-

ple ritual with subtle, deep layers of meaning rooted in bothZen Buddhism and the Japanese culture and ways of think-

ing. All distractions are put aside and the participant has

the opportunity for deep reflection and self-actualization.

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T E A I N T H E W E S T E R N W O R L D

By the early 1800s, Britain was drinking its way through

9 million cups of tea a year at the heyday of the East

India Company.

In 1651, England established sea navigation regulations,

prohibiting foreign tea imports, and began purchasing teas

directly from China. In 1700, the English East India Com-

pany recorded the importation of half fermented tea. In

1720, England had the exclusive right to import Chinese tea

(green and half fermented).

It was the Portuguese and Dutch traders who first imported

tea to Europe, with regular shipments by 1610. Curiously,

it was the London coffee houses that were responsible for

introducing tea to England. One of the first coffee house

merchants to offer tea was Thomas Garway, who owned an

establishment in Exchange Alley. He sold both liquid anddry tea to the public as early as 1657. Tea gained popular-

ity quickly in the coffee houses, and by 1700 over 500 coffee

houses sold it.

After water, tea is the most commonly consumed beverage

in the world. There are approximately 1,500 different vari-

eties of tea, all offering interesting and varied styles, taste

and colour. The character of tea, like wine, is influenced by

the elevation of the garden, the soil, wind conditions and

temperature and, of course, the quality of the plucking.


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Unlike tea drinkers in Asia, who emphasized purity in

both the form and content of the tea ceremony, Western tea

drinkers like to mix things up by adding milk or lemon and

sugar, and by blending fruit and floral flavors with tradi-

tional black tea. Earl Grey tea, for instance, is black tea

infused with bergamot orange oil--an additive that was first

used to flavor snuff and gin. Herbal teas, also known as

tonic herbals, have become increasingly popular in mod-

ern times. They are not made from the actual tea plant at

all, but from various flavorful or medicinal plants, like gin-seng or chamomile.

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T E A C U S T O M S

Afternoon tea is said to have originated with one person;

Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford. In the early 1800s shelaunched the idea of having tea in the late afternoon to

bridge the gap between luncheon and dinner, which in fash-

ionable circles might not be served until 8 oclock at night.

This fashionable custom soon evolved into high tea among

the working classes, where this late afternoon repast became

the main meal of the day.

The oldest tea specialty book in Japan, Kissa Yojoki ;

(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 ones life more full and complete. The prefacedescribes how drinking tea can have a positive effect on

the five vital organs, especially the heart. It discusses teas

medicinal qualities which include easing the effects of

alcohol, acting as a stimulant, curing blotchiness, quenching

thirst, eliminating indigestion, curing beriberi, preventing

fatigue, and improving urinary and brain function.


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There are five types of true tea: black tea, oolong tea,

green tea , white tea , and Pu-erh. The term herbal

tea usually refers to infusions of fruit or herbs.

White Tea: Young leaves (new growth buds) that have

undergone no oxidation; the buds may be shielded from

sunlight to prevent formation of chlorophyll.

Green Tea: The oxidation process is stopped after a

minimal amount of oxidation by application of heat; either

with steam, a traditional Japanese method; or by dry cookingin hot pans, the traditional Chinese method. Tea leaves may

be left to dry as separate leaves or rolled into small pellets to

make gun-powder tea. The latter process is time-consuming

and is typically done only with pekoes of higher quality. The

tea is processed within one to two days of harvesting.

Oolong : Oxidation is stopped somewhere between the

standards for green tea and black tea. The oxidation process

will take two to three days. Oolong teas should have a strong

brew yet a touch of sweet, floral aftertaste.

Red Tea/Black Tea: The tea leaves are allowed to

completely oxidize. Because of this, the taste of black tea is

generally stronger and will contain more caffeine than other

types. here are many grades of black tea dependent on the way

its produced, where it comes from, the year it was produced,

and on and on. India is well known for its black teas. Twoexcellent teas from India are Assam Tea and Darjeeling Tea.

One important factor in determining the quality of tea from

India is the size of the leaf used. These teas can be made

from the smallest broken leaf parts all the way to the whole

leaves. Tea processed from the largest whole leaves are the

rarest and of the highest quality.

T Y P E S O F T E A

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Pe-erh: During the aging process, the tea undergoes a

second, microbial fermentation. Pu-erh tea is from China

and goes through extended oxidation and processing where

it is formed into bricks or discs. Looking at the various types

of tea, it doesnt appear to take long to process them but

the aging of Pu-erh can range from one to four years and

requires hours to steep or boil.

Blended teas are a mixture of these teas and are the onesyoull most often find in tea bags.

Yellow Tea: Either used as a name of high-quality tea

served at the Imperial court, or of special tea processed

similarly to green tea, but with a slower drying phase.

The degree of processing determines whether a tea will be

green, black or red. Green teas are the least processed. They

are simply steamed quickly before packaging. Black and

red teas are partially dried, crushed and fermented. The

length of fermentation, which causes the leaves to blacken,

determines whether the tea will be red or black. Regardless

of the processing method, all teas contain polyphenols.

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H E A L T H B E N E F I T S O F T E A

Tea is a natural source of caffeine, theophylline, and

antioxidants, but it has almost no fat, carbohydrates, or

protein. Tea contains catechins, a type of antioxidant. In

fresh tea leaf, catechins can be up to 30% of the dry weight.

Catechins are highest in concentration in white and green

teas while black tea has substantially less due to its oxidative


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preparation. Tea also contains the stimulants caffeine (about

3% of the dry weight and typically 40 mg per cup of prepared

tea), theophylline and theobromine, the latter two being

present in very small amounts.

To date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking

green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine.

However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there

are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six - eight

ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eightounces of coffee.

Fights Cancer & Heart Disease

Tea contains antioxidant compounds of polyphenols that

help the body fight harmful free radicals. It is believed that

harmful free radical can lead to cancer and heart disease.

Tea also contains flavonoids that restricts the build up

of cholesterols and help with blood vessel functionality.

Polyphenols, like other antioxidants, help protect cells from

the normal, but damaging, physiological process known as

oxidative stress. Although oxygen is vital to life, its also

incorporated into reactive substances called free radicals.

These can damage the cells in our body and have been

implicated in the slow chain reaction of damage leading to

heart disease and cancer.

Protects Teeth & Strengthens BonesPolyphenols found in tea may reduce plaque, which lowers

your chance of cavity and gum disease. Tea also contains

fluoride that helps protect against tooth decay. Fluoride

is extracted from the soil by the tea plant. This identified

mineral also strengthens bones and prevents osteoporosis.

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Improves Digestion

The polyphenols in tea help with digestion of fatty food by

increasing the flow of digestive juices.

Prevents Food Poisoning

The catechins in tea are a powerful sterilizing agent, which

kills germs and bacteria. Tea prevents food poisoning

by fighting against stomach diseases caused by harmful

bacterias.

Makes You Look and Feel Younger

Studies suggested that the high concentration of antioxidants

in tea have an anti-aging effect.

Strengthens the Immune System

Vitamin C in green tea helps to treat the flu and the common

cold. Moreover, the polyphenols in tea have shown to increase

the number of white blood cells in our immune system.

Prevents Dehydration

Tea is a good source of fluid intake that replenishes lost body

liquid. Doctors recommend that it is vital to drink at least

1.5 liters of fluid a day. Tea is low in calorie and it is a great

thirst quencher.

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In measuring the catechin content of a variety of green and

black teas that were brewed for about 3 minutes each, Henning

and colleagues found levels as high as 217 milligrams for

Celestial Seasonings Green Tea, 201 milligrams for Lipton

Green Tea, 164 milligrams for Bigelow Darjeeling Blend

(black tea) and 157 milligrams for Uncle Lees Green Tea.

On the lower end, they found 53 milligrams of catechins in

Stash Premium Green Tea Decaf, 46 milligrams in Twinings

Earl Grey Black Tea, 38 milligrams in Bigelow ConstantComment (black tea) and just 10 milligrams in Bigelow

Constant Comment Decaf.

And when it came to the two iced tea mixes studied, results

showed that both Lipton Lemon Iced Tea and Snapple Peach

Iced Tea had no measurable catechin content at all.

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S O U R C E S

http://chinesefood.about.com/library/weekly/aa011400a.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea

http://www.stashtea.com/facts.htm

http://www.gol27.com/HistoryTea.html

http://www.britainexpress.com/History/tea-in-britain.htm

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/columnnn/nn000621.html

http://www.healthcastle.com/tea.shtml

http://www.enjoyingtea.com/healbenoftea.html

http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/News_about_the_heart/

Antioxidant_levels_of_common_teas_vary_widely.html

http://www.plantcultures.org/plants/tea_history.html

http://greentealovers.com/greenteahistorywest.htm

http://www.britainexpress.com/History/tea-in-britain.htm

http://pearlriver.com/v2/newsletter/tea/tea_western.html

http://www.blissborne.com/tea-library/asian-tea-history.aspx

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