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The myth and mystery surrounding Tea is unusual, and rarely has a beverage attracted such interest and admiration throughout history. Although there are many legends pointing toward the origins of tea, evidence points to a beginning in China and much later in India.
The origins of the beverage are clouded in legend; Chinese tradition refers to an Indian Brahmin, Dharma, who went as a missionary to China; having fallen asleep from fatigue, he awoke in such anger at his own weakness that he tore out his eyelids. The eyelids took root and developed into a tea plant, the leaves of which Dharma consumed as he meditated. Zen Buddhist monks are said to have followed this tradition, consuming tea before the image of Dharma, their founder. Another story suggests that tea was known as a beverage in China at the time of Chi Nung, 2737 B.C. A clear reference to tea appears in "She King" a classical work compiled by Confucius about 500 B.C, yet it is likely that it was only in the 6th Century A.D that tea became a beverage of any important scale in China. In 780 A.D Lo-yu, a learned Chinese author who lived in the Dynasty of Tang, in an enchanting little dissertation on tea said The earliest credible reference to tea is in the Erh Yha, dictionary annoted in 350AD by Kuo P’o who refers to tea as ‘a beverage from leaves made by boiling’.
Leaving aside the mythical tales of tea, evidence points to the origin of tea being in China, followed much later by India. 18th Century travellers in India document the appearance of tea in Assam. Tea trees were discovered in the Upper Assam region of North East India and the very first chests of Indian tea reached London in 1839. In the same year, Assam tea seeds were successfully test planted in Ceylon. The Governor General of India, Lord Bentick officially announced the discovery of tea in India only in 1844 and called for the development of the industry.
Tea first reached Europe in 1610, arriving from China, in Holland via the Dutch East India Company. Within a few years, tea had become a popular drink among the Dutch aristocracy, who drank it as much for its supposed medicinal properties as for its pleasant taste. Tea reached Britain around 1650, where it immediately became so popular that the limited quantities available fetched astronomical prices. Before 1700 AD, tea was still a rarity in Europe, being consumed at Royal Courts, or by wealthy traders. Records exist of tea sold at fifty or more Sterling Pounds per pound of tea. Tea was consumed with great ceremony, usually taken with sugar or saffron. By the end of the 17th century, when a high duty had been placed on all grades of tea, smuggling became rife. In the early 18th century, two thirds of all imported tea was in the form of contraband. It was during this period that tea became the favorite beverage of all classes.
In America, tea became the symbol of British oppression when George III used it as a test case to exert his right to tax the colonies. In 1773, the entire cargo of the East India ship "Dartmouth" was emptied into Boston Harbour and the event became immortalised as the "Boston Tea Party".
Please visit www.historyofceylontea.com
the most complete online reference to tea that contains a large collection of historical
literature about the Ceylon Tea industry |
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