Tea History

Series Summary

Tea is characterized as the most mystical and healing of all the beverages. With the variety of flavors, tea seems to perfect drink for any occasion. As Chinese legend describes, tea originated by divine intervention. A legendary emperor was sitting in the grass sometime around 2737 B.C. As he was pondering life, he drank a bowl of boiling water when all of a sudden leaves blew into his bowl. When he looked down, he noticed that the water had started to change color. The ever inquisitive and curious monarch took a sip of the brew and was pleasantly surprised by its flavor and its restorative properties. However, due to the desire that tea arouses, one creation myth can not possibly be enough to explain the beginnings of tea. Another legend claims that the founder of the Zen school of Buddhism discovered the beverage. Regardless of truth to these myths, tea has played a significant role in Asian culture for centuries as a staple beverage, a curative and a symbol of status. In this free video series, learn about loose leaf tea. Our experts, Bret and Kerstin Wingert, own tea shops in Arizona. They give you all kinds of information for making the perfect cup of tea. Learn about the history of tea and common tea myths. Also, learn about high tea. If you are looking for tea brewing supplies, they show you what you need. Learn how to brew white, Oolong, green, and black tea. If summer heat is getting you down, they give you a delicious iced tea recipe. So, what are you waiting for? Make yourself the perfect cup of tea today!

Video Transcript

"In this clip we'll talk a little bit about the history of tea. Not only is tea the second most popular beverage in the world, next to water, it's also one of the oldest beverages. In fact, its history spans over five thousand years, and it all started with an emperor called Shennong. The emperor Shennong, five thousand years ago, sat under a tree one afternoon and boiled his drinking water. While he was sitting and waiting for his water to boil, a leaf from the tree, under which he sat, fell into the water and infused it. Now he was very curious about the infusion, which just smelled delicious. So he decided to give it a try and drank it and immediately fell in love with the invigorating effect of the brew and its delicious taste. This was the birth hour of tea, so legend tells us. Over five thousand years, tea came in many shapes and forms and traveled many miles--along the Silk Road, all the way to Turkey, and the other way to Japan, and then finally across the ocean to Europe. But many people think that the English brought tea to the Western world. They're mistaken. The Portuguese were the ones who first imported tea to the West and the English came much later to the tea party. It wasn't until the late 1600s before they had their first cup of tea. And this, in a nutshell, is the history of tea."