The history of tea



The history of tea comes from a Chinese discovery

According to Chinese legend, it is in 2737 BC: that the Emperor Shen Nung, "The divine healer", a botany expert, would have discovered tea by chance, while, sitting under a plant, he was drinking boiling water and a leaf of that plant fell into the cup.

The emperor would have tasted the infusion and would have appreciated its taste so much, finding it extremely invigorating and refreshing, to immediately order its cultivation throughout China. Here is the history of tea, just as it begins according to the greatest drinkers in the world.

The history of tea continues ...

The first text that speaks of tea dates back to the third century BC and speaks of a Chinese surgeon who recommended its consumption in order to increase concentration and to stay awake. At that time, tea did not yet have its own ideogram, but it already had its own story.

The history of tea traces the birth of the current ideogram 茶 to the 8th century AD, which, following the onomastics, passed from "you" to "cha". Over the centuries the growing demand for tea by the Chinese population has made it possible for the farmers to cultivate it even in the areas along the Yangtze River and to develop different methods of conservation.

It was, tells the story of tea, of green teas steamed and then compressed, which had to remember the current Pu-Erh and Tuocha. During the Tang Dynasty, considered the Golden Age of Tea, it was estimated that the best tea came from the gardens of Yangxian, a mountainous area located between the current coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu. It was in this period that Lu Yu wrote the " Canon of tea", the oldest and most important treatise on the cultivation, processing, preparation and tasting of tea in the world. There are also indicated tools and rituals: for those who know and love the history of tea, it is an essential book.

The history of tea: how tea was once

The tea of ​​that time was prepared differently than today: it even added salt, mint, onion, carnation and other spices depending on the region. Later on with the history of tea, under the Song dynasty (960-1279) it was decided to aromatize the drink also with flowers: jasmine, lotus, chrysanthemum . Only later, under the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) red tea was also invented, oxidized in order to preserve it better, and to start marketing it internationally.

In this era, in fact, that is, towards the beginning of the seventeenth century, Europe discovered tea, it is not clear whether thanks to the Dutch or the Portuguese. The history of tea tells that thanks to the Portuguese princess Catherine De Braganza, wife of Charles II and a great tea lover, that the drink arrived at the English court!

Recommended books

Tea and infusions for our health, Zong Xiao-Fan, Gary Liscum

Previous Article

Açai: properties, use, contraindications

Açai: properties, use, contraindications

Açai ( Euterpe oleracea ) is a plant of the Arecaceae family . Its berries are rich in anthocyanins, vitamins and minerals and perform a cholesterol-lowering and antioxidant action. Let's find out better. Açai Property The berries of this palm are a rich source of anthocyanins (plant pigment that gives them the typical purple red), proteins , essential fatty acids, fibers , vitamins and minerals . ...

Next Article

Symbolism of the god Vishnu

Symbolism of the god Vishnu

Vishnu, sometimes also called Hari, Vasudeva, Narayana and Jagannatha (only some of the best known among his thousands of names) is one of the main deities of the Hindu pantheon, he represents the protector and preserver aspect of the supreme being and sometimes represents being supreme tout court Despite having Vedic origins, in reality in these ancient texts his role was not at all prominent, and he had to wait for the development of his figure in the Puranas so that he assumed the very high role he now holds in Hinduism ...