The ancient art of tea: steeped in legend

Where did it all begin, you ask? There are a few different stories, but the oldest account of the origins of tea are from around 2700BC when Chinese Emperor Shen Sung stopped during his travels to rest and a leaf from a tree above fell into his pot of boiling water. Known for trying different plants in the forests to test their affects on the body, he drank it and found that the flavored beverage gave him energy and revitalized him for his journey. He took the leaves back home and thus tea drinking was born.

Mostly used for medicinal purposes at first, tea has been found in tombs in China dating back to 206BC-220AD but it wasn’t until between 600-900AD that tea was declared the national drink of China. Shortly after that, it was taken to Japan by Bhuddist monks who had traveled to China for study. What I love about the origins of tea most, is the name. The English word “tea” comes from the local dialect of the city of Xiamen 厦门, my home for 9 years. Sounding more like “they”, the word was adopted by the British exporters who came to Amoy (the ancient name for Xiamen) and pronounced with a hard “t” at the beginning.

There is so much more to the history of tea, but let’s discover it together slowly; much like sitting and sipping a hot cup of tea.