Tea comes from leaves from the camellia sinensis plant where it is cured in various methods. What the majority of folks are familiar with, is loose leaf tea or organic black tea which is made with boiling water to make a nice tasting hot drink. Tea is the 2nd most consumed drink after water in the world and many people enjoy drinking it hot or iced and cold. There are several varieties of tea and the most frequently used ones are white, black, green yellow and oolong. Even though the different varieties all come from the same plant, the methods and the parts of the plant in drying them are different producing various taste and aroma. The other popular kind of tea is an herbal one which does not have caffeine and is made from leaves, flowers, fruits and herbs and doesn’t have any parts of the camellia sinensis plant in it.
The Yunnan Province of China is referred as the birthplace of tea where people residing there discovered that eating the leaves from the tea plant and also brewing it with water could taste good and be quite pleasant. China is also proud to say that they have the world’s most ancient tea tree which is said to be 3,200 years old. Green tea is one of the favorite varieties that hail from China and has been said to have health benefits as well as helps to curb an appetite.
There are a few interesting myths surrounding the start of drinking or consuming tea leaves. One is centered on Shennong who was the Emperor of China as well as the inventor of agriculture and Chinese medicine. One myth states that he was drinking a bowl of boiled water in 2737 B.C. when a few leaves from a nearby plant blew into his bowl changing the color. He tasted it and found it had a nice flavor. Another myth was that he regularly tested various herbs and plants for their medicinal qualities and often the herbs he tried were poisonous. He would then consume boiled water with tea leaves to erase the poison he had taken.
In other countries and cultures, tea was consumed for different reasons, for example, in India, it was originally consumed for medicinal purposes. It was first noted to be used as a medicine in 500 B.C. Actually, such a large amount of tea was consumed in India that it was the main consumer of tea for over a century until it was passed by China during the 21st century.
In Japan, tea was first drank in religious classes in the nation when different priests were sent to China to learn various things about the Chinese culture. Britain, also became consumers of tea a long time ago and it is highly consumed today still. It was originally a drink only considered for the aristocratic classes but now is widely consumed in the afternoons with milk and sugar for many residents living in Great Britain.