Tea can be traced back almost 5,000 years ago. According to the ancient Chinese legend, in 2732 B.C., Emperor Shen Nung discovered tea when leaves from a wild tree blew into his pot of boiling water. As a scientist, he was immediately intrigued by the pleasant scent from the resulting brew, and drank some. He described a warmth passing through him as he drank the newly-discovered brew, as if the liguid was investigating every part of his body. He named the brew "ch'a", the Chinese character meaning to check or investigate.

Tea was quickly identified to have healing properties and was used as a medicine to treat a variety of ailments and to increase concentration and alertness. In 200 B.C., an emperor of the Han Dynasty ruled that when referring to tea, a unique written character must be used. This new character, also pronounced "ch'a" illustrates wooden branches, flowers and grass, and a man between the two. This written character symbolizes that tea brings humankind into balance with nature.

The preparation and cultivation of the crop was tightly controlled and even specified that only young women were to handle the tea leaves and that these women must not eat garlic, onions, or strong spices in case the odor on their fingertips might contaminate the precious leaves.

THE INVENTION OF BLACK TEA

Up until the mid-17th century, all tea produced in China was green tea. However, as foreign trade increased the profit-conscious Chinese growers discovered that they could preserve the leaves by fermenting them in the air and then halting the natural decomposition by baking. This "black" tea kept its flavor and aroma longer than traditional, delicate green teas and was better equipped for the long journeys involved in transporting tea into other countries.

MODERN DAY CHINA

Tea has remained an integral part of Chinese culture for thousands of years; It was popular before the Egyptians built the great pyramids and was traded with Asian countries even before Europe left the dark ages. The importance and popularity of tea in China continues in modern day and has become a symbol of the country's history, religion, and culture.

Today, students compete to attend the exceptional Shanghai Tea Institute which requires its highest level graduates to play the traditional guzheng stringed instrument, perform a flawless tea-serving ceremony, speak a foreign language to entertain overseas guests, and distinguish between about 1,000 different types of Chinese tea...to date no student has passed. There is also an entire amusement park called the Tenfu Tea Museum - China's equivalent of Disneyland -honors the Chinese tea-drinking traditions.

THE RISE OF TEA IN OTHER COUNTRIES

JAPAN

At the beginning of the 9th century, Japanese visitors to China were introduced to the values and traditions of tea. The Buddhist monk Dengyo Daishi, who studied in China until A.D. 705, took tea seeds to his monastery when he returned to Japan. For centuries following, tea was an integral part of Japanese monastery life and monks used tea to help them stay alert during long hours of meditation. By the early 1300's tea gained popularity throughout Japanese society, but its early religious importance permanently colored the meaning and value the Japanese associate with tea and directly influenced the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

RUSSIA

In 1618, the Chinese presented a gift of tea to Tsar Alexis of Russia. Everyone was curious about the new beverage and tea quickly gained popularity. A camel caravan trade route emerged to transport tea into the country. This caravan covered 11,000 miles and took nearly 1 ½ years to travel by camel. To keep up with the demand, nearly 6,000 camels each carrying 600 lbs of tea entered Russia each year. That's over 3.5 million pounds of tea! The camel caravan ended with the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1903-cutting the journeys length from 1 ½ years to just over 1 week.

EUROPE

When the Portuguese and Dutch first imported tea into Europe in 1610, Shakespeare had 6 years to live and Rembrandt was 4 years old. England's relationship with tea didn't began until 1662 when King Charles II married the Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza. Britain's new queen had always loved tea and brought with her, as part of her dowry, a chest of Chinese tea. She began serving the tea to her aristocratic friends at Court, and word of the exotic beverage spread quickly.

As an imported luxury, only the wealthy could afford to drink tea. The price of tea was 16-60 shillings a pound ($1.20-$4.50) making the cheapest pound of tea an entire month's wage for the average laborer. As such, tea consumption became highly fashionable and elitist. According to a London magazine in the 1740's, it cost more to maintain a fashionable tea table with tea and accessories than to support 2 children and a nurse. As such, being able to serve and drink tea with elegance and skill marked social status and indicated good breeding and intellect. Many 18th century English and Dutch paintings commissioned by wealthy families show them having tea.

THE BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY GAINS WORLD DOMINANCE

The Dutch dominated the tea trade until 1678 when the British began importing tea on a commercial scale. Wanting full control over trade and the money that came with it, the British Royal family chartered the East India Company and granted it a monopoly on all trade throughout Asia , India , Russia , and eastern Africa. With the right to acquire territory, coin money, keep armies and forts, punish lawbreakers, form foreign alliances, and declare war, the East India Company became the most powerful monopoly the world has ever known, and tea was its primary commodity. The reign of the East India Company continued for several hundred years until, in 1833, British Parliament declared the routes open to competition. However, there were many lasting effects. The British East India Company changed the world. They claimed Honk Kong, Singapore , and India as British colonies, and prompted a global economy. All of this for tea!

ESTABLISHING TEA PLANTATIONS IN INDIA

Even before the Opium Wars began, China was hesitant about trading with the west. Believing their nation to be self-sufficient China began moving even more toward isolation. Their sense of privacy was so extreme that the Chinese government even considered their national language a state secret. Merchants caught teaching the "foreign devils" their language were punished by death. The difficulties in continuing trade with China convinced Britain to explore other alternatives and they began searching for a way to grow their own tea.

Northern India appeared as a promising location for tea plantations due to the climate and high altitudes. Also, explorers had discovered indigenous tea plants growing in Assam in 1823. Before long, the people of India became experts on growing very beautiful tea plants, but had no knowledge of how to prepare the leaves. Robert Fortune, a Scottish botanist, disguised himself as a peasant and entered China attempting to discover the secret cultivation techniques involved in tea making. Fortune returned to India with knowledge, equipment, and a small team of experienced Chinese growers.

THE ROMANCE OF TEA

In 1845 the first American clipper ship was launched and made the round trip from China to New York in less than eight months, posing a huge threat to British ship owners whose ships took up to 18 months to travel from China to London. In 1850, the British began producing these sleek clipper ships which could each carry more than a million pounds of tea. During this romantic period, several clipper ships would set sail from the Orient together and race back to London --across three-quarters of the globe--where people would gather around the seaside to watch these new, majestic ships. Betting on which ship would arrive first became a popular pastime, and a higher price was paid for the cargo of the first ship home. The winning ship's crew members were also awarded. The most famous race was in 1866 when The Aeriel, Taeping, and Serica all docked on the same tide, 99 days after setting sail. The sailing records that took place while trading tea have never been equaled.

THE UNITED STATES

With colonizing groups from Europe , it is no surprise that early North America was a tea drinking continent. Europe's same traditions and rules of etiquette crossed the Atlantic; Tea houses and elegant silver and porcelain tea accessories were popular in the new cities of New York, Boston and Philadelphia.

WORLDWIDE PRODUCTION

Tea is now produced in about 50 countries. However, the finest teas come from only 5: China , Japan , India , Sri Lanka ( Ceylon), and Taiwan ( Formosa). In general, most black teas come from India and Sri Lanka -from famous tea producing regions such as Darjeeling and Assam. China and Japan cultivate mainly green tea, and Taiwan is famous for Oolong. As with fine wine, experts can taste a tea and know what country the leaf came from, and in some cases at what plantation, time of year, or even what time of day it was picked.