Do you know from where tea originated and who gave it this name?

Do you know from where tea originated and who gave it this name?

You probably know about the demand for tea, but do you know about the history of tea? How did it become a necessity for our homes?

Be it winter or summer, our day does not start without tea. Tea seems to be a big part of our daily needs and without it, anything seems empty. Whether it is to make tea at home or to drink tapri tea, seeing the love of Indian tea, it seems as if it has been a very important part of the history of India, but it is not so. Tea was started in China 5000 years ago, not in India.

Britain is often remembered for tea, but what you do not know is that Britain had acquired enmity with many countries in the craze for tea. In the earlier times, business was not so easy and the hankering for tea had made many papads made by the British. So let's travel to China, and Britain and come to India while talking about tea.

Invention and naming of tea

The history of tea is associated with China and it is believed to be its invention there. According to the popular story, tea was invented by the Chinese ruler Sheng Nung in 2732 BC. This too happened by mistake because the leaves of a wild plant had fallen into their pot of boiling water. When the leaves fell into the water, they smelled very nice and their color started changing. Out of curiosity, Sheng Nung drank it. The story also says that the ruler felt so good after drinking it as if his whole body was refreshed and he felt happy. He felt as if this liquid was searching every part of his body.

During that time Sheng Nung named the tea Cha. These are Chinese characters that mean to test or find. However, in 200 BC, another ruler of China changed the way of writing it but kept its name, Cha.

So this is how the world got the tea which is liked till date. However, other stories related to the invention of tea have also been seen, but this is the most popular one.

Other countries associated with the history of tea

The first glimpse of tea was shown by China to Tibet. This dates back to the 9th century when tea was imported into Tibet from China through yak.

After this, tea was similarly brought to Japan. Japanese customers visiting China for business tasted the tea, and then a Buddhist monk, Dengyo Daishi, took the tea seeds with him to Japan, and the tea became an important part of Japanese monks' meditations.

In 1618, tea leaves came from China as a gift for the ruler of Russia. Just as tea was imported into Tibet with the help of yaks, in Russia tea was transported through camels throughout the country. Tea gradually reached Europe from Russia. Tea was first imported into Europe in the 1600s, in Portugal and Denmark.

How did tea get its name 'Tee'?

Now let's talk about the country that took tea out of China and made it global and even fought for it.

In 1658, a tea advertisement appeared for the first time in a British newspaper. By then some Chinese and Portuguese traders had taken it to the British markets. During this time its name was 'Te'. The same word was used in the advertisement as well and after that it became T. However, its popularity increased due to a royal wedding.

Princess Catherine of Braganza of Portugal was married to King Charles II of England in 1662. She had brought tea leaves with her in dowry. In fact, Katherine always had tea leaves and she loved them.

During this time the British Royal family was introduced to tea. The new Queen of Britain started giving tea to her friends too. The word spread quickly in the British corridors that there is a royal drink that is only with the queen. Whoever drank it expressed a desire to drink it again and something like this started the import of tea in Britain.

Britain and the historical craze for tea

In Britain, upper-class families started drinking it and 'afternoon tea' started trending. 'Afternoon tea' and 'high tea' parties started trending. Afternoon tea was served between a light breakfast and an evening meal. The timing of High Tea was kept at 6 o'clock where it was accompanied by plenty of food and drink.

Before this, Denmark was the only trade of tea in Europe, but as soon as it grew in the British royal family, they increased their dominance.

tea for silver and opium

An addiction can make a person do anything and you must know how complex the addiction to tea can be. The craze for tea in India was also increased not through neighboring China but through the British. All the foreign rulers of India brought some gifts with them and one of them was tea.

When Britain's East India Company started spreading all over the world, then the urge for tea also increased and this company became an important link in the globalization of tea. In 1833, trade competition started and the global economy started getting addicted to tea.

By now Britain's dominance had started to settle on tea, so how could its inventor China keep silent? The demand for tea started increasing all over the world and Britain was not able to fulfill it. During that time, the rule was to give one hand and take one hand. Britain used to export cotton from India, but at that time China was more interested in silver.

Now silver could not be grown like cotton, so the British started growing opium in India with their brains. These opium was grown by the farmers of India and the British used to ship it in ships and send it to other places. This scheme worked in China. The business of opium was such that the more it was ordered, the more its consumption increased. These exports also started from the Indian border and in such a situation it took some time for China to understand what opium is doing to their people.

India and tea

This business in China lasted till 1839, but after that China protested and immersed 20,000 opium boxes in water. A year later, Britain waged a war against China, and in return, China banned the export of tea. This was the period when China understood that their country can do its business even after being separated.

By then Britain had come to know about the fertile land of India and with a little hard work, British tea gardens were planted in India. This was the story of India's first tea gardens which came here from all over the world. You will see that the history of tea grown in Darjeeling and Assam goes back to the British somewhere. Although it started in 1823 itself, after stopping the export of China, it intensified.

Tea started growing, but the information about its processing was still not there, for which Robert Fortune (Scottish Botanist) extracted these secrets of China and then the tea made in India became world-class.

Indian tea Assam tea and Darjeeling tea are currently exported all over the world. Yes, the name of English Mrs. Brook (creator of Brooke Bond tea), Tata Tea Company (India's first fresh tea), etc. has also been added to the history of tea, but we will talk about them again sometime. Now in the coming time, we will tell you about this too, so stay connected to know about this interesting journey related to tea with every life.

Tea was invented from a leaf that fell in hot water after breaking from a tree, reached India like this

The practice of drinking tea first thing in the morning is not only in India but in many countries, it is hundreds of years old. Most people think that tea was invented in India but it is not so. It started in China. Know how it started and how it reached India...

first tea story

According to a legend, around 2700 BC, the Chinese ruler Shen Nung was drinking hot water sitting in the garden. Then a leaf of a tree fell in the water, due to which its color changed and the smell also rose. When the king tasted it, he liked its taste very much and thus tea was invented. At the same time, according to another story, in the 6th century, Bodhidharma, an Indian Buddhist monk, used to meditate without sleeping in the Hunan province of China. They used to chew on the leaves of a particular plant to stay awake and this plant was later recognized as the tea plant.

types of tea...

White tea is the purest and least processed of all teas. Green tea is the most famous and well-liked in Asia. Oolong tea is a Chinese tea served in Chinese restaurants. Black tea is also drunk by simply adding the leaves to hot water or with milk and sugar. No tea leaves are added to herbal tea.

The advent of tea in India...

In 1824, tea plants were found on the frontier hills of Burma (Myanmar) and Assam. The British introduced tea production to India in 1836 and to Sri Lanka in 1867. Earlier the seeds for cultivation came from China but later the seeds of Assam tea started being used. Tea was originally produced in India to meet the demand for tea in the British markets. Till the late nineteenth century, tea consumption in India was non-existent. But today you will definitely find tea at every crossroads, nook, and corner of India.

Tea classification...

Tea is classified according to the place of cultivation. Such as Chinese, Japanese, Sri Lankan, Indonesian and African teas. Some names are region-specific such as Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiris in India, Uwa and Dimbula in Sri Lanka, Keemun tea from the Keiman region of Anhui province of China, and Enshu tea in ​​Japan.