It has its own rituals. Tea is often thought of being a British drink, but that’s not the case. People have been drinking tea far longer than the British have been drinking it. If tea is not a British drink, then who started drinking it and where did it originate? Let’s take a quick look into the history of tea!
Who started drinking tea?
People started drinking tea in China, according to a legend, in 2737 BC, the Chinese emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water, when some leaves from the tree blew into the water. Shen Nung, a renowned herbalist, decided to try the infusion that his servant had accidentally created. The tree was a Camellia sinensis, and the resulting drink was what we now call tea. While this story is a legend, we certainly can’t make sure if there is any truth to it.
The only certain thing is that, the Chinese have started drinking team many centuries before any other culture have heard of it.
In the late eighth century, tea was introduced to Japan by Japanese Buddhist monks who travelled to China to study. After that, tea became an important component of Japanese culture. Even today, in Japan there are intricate tea ceremonies which exhibit the ceremonial preparation and presentation of powdered green tea (matcha). If you are ever in Japan, you should experience
Largest Tea Producers:
China is by far the largest producer of tea in the world– approximately 30-35% of the total amount produced in the world in 2013. China is mainly famous for producing green, oolong, white, yellow, and jasmine teas.
India comes in second, the commercial industry began after Britain was introduced to tea from China. India, a nation of over 1 billion tea drinkers, produces large quantities (approximately 70%) of their national consumption. They are famous for producing the famous spicy chai tea that they consume with milk.
Kenya, surprisingly enough, is known for producing coffee more than tea; however, it comes in third! Kenya in known for developing new varieties that grow more abundantly and also for single-origin artisan teas.
The world’s biggest tea drinkers:
China is the largest consumer of tea, at 1.6 billion pounds a year. However, when you take a look at the countries with the largest consumption per person, other countries are thrown into the spotlight.