|
|
It all started 5000 years when a falling tea
leaf gently found its way into a brewing pot of hot water on the misty
hillside in China’s far eastern Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. One legend
in Yunnan explains that a Buddhist sage and Indian prince known as
Bodhidharma had come to China to teach Buddhism and vowed not to sleep for
seven years. He unfortunately dozed off during meditation and ashamed of
his behavior ripped out his eyelids and buried them in the ground. A tea
tree reportedly grew in that spot.There has always been a mystique about
the special leaf and for many years after its discovery it was consumed as
a detoxifying medicine.
Tea has enjoyed a constant rise in popularity ever since. Today, medicine
has proven that the sages of the centuries were correct with their claims.
It is more popular than ever as people seek out the health virtues of the
incredible tealeaf. And, with the rise of gentility and social gatherings,
tea is once again the nucleolus in the renaissance of civility.
Tea has been documented for centuries. In 1100 BC. Tribal Heads offered
tribute tea to Zhou Dynasty founder, Emperor Wen. In 220 BC. it was
recorded that Qin Dynasty General, Liu Kun, requested tea to help him
recover from feeling old and depressed. Wang Bao wrote a book in 59 BC.
that described methods for buying and preparing tea in Central Sichuan
Province.
In 350 AD, tea was added to the lexicon as “TU”. In 520 AD, the Buddhist
monks used it as a meditation aid. The classic tea book, “Cha Ching”, was
written in 780 AD, by Luyu, known as the God of Tea. He established rules
for tasting; insisting that spring or river water must be used.
Tea landed in Japan in 805 AD, after the Zen Buddhist monk, Saicho,
returned with seeds to plant at his monastery. He was impressed how tea
kept him alert during meditation.
It was during the Ming dynasty that black, green and oolong started to be
manufactured. Blue and white porcelain and Yixing pottery were developed
and fashioned into beautiful tea vessels.
The English did not become exposed to tea until the mid 1600’s. Tom
Twinings opened the first teahouse in England in 1717. Today, the villages
and towns are peppered with these charming establishments. The afternoon
tea was created in Britain in the 1840s to relieve the Duchess of Bedford
of her “sinking feeling” around 4:00 p.m.
The history of tea is as diverse as the many varieties available. There
are well over 3,000 teas that can be found globally growing in plantations
and being intricately tied with silk in village huts.
Tea has experienced many reincarnations. With globalization, we will see
tea grow stronger in popularity with the sharing of cultures and
traditions, folklore and legends. |
