Legend has it that in 2737B.C. tea was discovered by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nong. He had been sitting beneath a tree waiting for his water to boil when tea leaves fell into his pot. In 59B.C. Wang Bao wrote the first known book with instructions on buying and preparing tea. Famed physician and surgeon Hua Tuo wrote Shin Lun in 22C.E. in which he describes tea’s ability to improve mental functions.
From 400-600C.E. the demand for tea rose steadily. Rather than harvest leaves from wild trees, farmers began to develop ways to cultivate tea and in 479, Turkish traders bartered for tea on the Mongolian border.
From 589-618C.E. during the Sui Dynasty, tea was introduced to Japan by Buddhist monks. Around this time, from about 618-906C.E. during the Tang Dynasty, powdered tea was produced; Caravans carried tea on the Silk Road, trading with India, Turkey, and Russia.
Poet Lu Yu is regarded in China as the tea saint. He was born around 733 and was abandoned by his parents at a temple when he was about 3 years old. The monks adopted him and taught him to make and appreciate tea. They wanted him to become a Buddhist monk, but he rebelled and ran away at the age of 12. He traveled eastern China to study tea and eventually settled in Hu Zhou, where he found his favorite tea, Purple Bamboo Shoot. He spent a couple of decades writing the first tea book in history, Cha Jing, and in it he explained how to grow and process tea, and how to prepare and drink it.
Lu Yu’s book had tremendous impact on the tea industry, both by teaching producers to make better tea and by introducing tea to the common people. He wrote the first book of tea in 780C., making him a living saint, patronized by the Emperor himself. The book described methods of cultivation and preparation. By 1200-1300C.E. during the Yuan Dynasty, tea became an ordinary drink enjoyed by all, never regaining the high status it once enjoyed in China. Marco Polo was not even introduced to tea when he visited.
During the 1400s, the Japanese tea ceremony was created by a Zen priest named Murata Shuko, who had devoted his life to tea. The ceremony is called Cha No Yu, which means hot water for tea.
Tea had arrived in Europe by the 17th century via Dutch and Portuguese sailors, trading dried sage in exchange. The first tea samples reached England between 1552 and 1654. Tea was first sold in England in 1657 at Garway’s Coffee House in London. In 1662, Queen Catherine of Breganza married Charles III. The Portuguese Catherine grew up drinking tea and brought her favorite dink with her to England. They both drank tea, creating a fashion for it. Its popularity among the aristocracy caused alcoholic beverages to fall from favor.
In 1657, tea was introduced to the English public in coffee houses as a medicinal drink. For ladies, tea was generally consumed in the bedchamber or during a female gathering. During the 18th century, tea gardens became popular among the upper class. At this time, tea arrived in Northern America. The earliest tea service dates from the early 1700s when Queen Anne first used a large silver teapot. Around this time, traders with 300 camels traveled 11,000 miles to China and back in order to supply Russia’s demand. The trip took a total of 16 months.
16 December, 1773, was the day of the “Boston Tea Party” which was a political protest against the British government and the monopolistic control of high taxes on the colonies. Under cover of night, colonists dressed as Native Americans, boarded the East India Trading Company ships in Boston Harbor. They opened chests of tea and dumped their contents into the water. This was repeated in other less known instances up and down the coast. The Boston Tea Party was a key event in the growth of the American Revolution.
In 1776 England sent the first opium to China. Opium addiction in China funded the escalating demand for tea in England. Cash trade for the drug increased until the opium wars began in 1839. An Imperial Edict from the Chinese Emperor closed all Chinese ports to foreign vessels until the end of the First Opium War.
The tradition of high tea did not develop among the upper class. It was originally a middle and lower class tradition during the early 1800s to substitute for dinner. The name high tea came from the high tables the tea was served in.
During the 1830s, Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, adopted the European tea services format and would invite her friends over for a small afternoon meal. The meal centered around small cakes and sandwiches. This idea was copied by many other hostesses during this era and tea time was born. In the 1880s the tradition of tea time was brought to luxury hotels as a form of entertainment and socialization around 4pm.
The beginning of the 20th century saw a significant rise in tea consumption which resulted from the appearance of tea bags, the inventor of tea bags, a New York tea merchant by the name of Thomas Sullivan. He sent tea to clients in silk bags which they began to mistakenly steep without opening. F
Today, the top 5 tea consuming countries in the world are Turkey, Ireland, UK, Iran, and Morocco.
Witch Tip: In Tibet, tea is served mixed with salt and butter.
Witch Tip: In Myanmar, formerly Burma, pickled tea, known as lahpet, is eaten.
The “Vessel Boiling Electric” or “BV” for boiling vessel was an innovation at the very end of World War II, when the Centurion tank was introduced with the device fitted inside the turret. Previously, British tank crews had disembarked when they wanted to “brew-up” (make tea), using a petrol cooker improvised from empty fuel cans called a “Benghazi burner”. Use of the BV enabled the crew to stay safely inside the tank and reduced the time taken for breaks. A boiling vessel is a water heating system fitted to British armored fighting vehicles that permits the crew to heat water and cook food by drawing power from the vehicle electrical supply. It is often referred to by crew members (not entirely in jest) as the most important piece of equipment in a British armored vehicle. A vehicle with a defective BV is declared unfit for purpose.
From our altar to yours, with love from the sea,
Click here for an Index to all posts
