The History of Tea

The history of tea can be traced as far back as the times of Shen Nung. This man was an ancient Chinese farmer who first discovered tea in the most surprising and unique of ways. It was a cool sunny afternoon in ancient China when Shen Nung was looking for herbs and spices among the wilderness. In the process, he poisoned himself, remarkably, seventy two times. As soon as he was about to die, he saw the outline of a weary leaf drifting toward him. It darted into his mouth. This leaf was the antidote to all the poisons, and he walked away unscathed. Later, historians believed this was the start of tea making. This was because, ancient Chinese tea was eaten in rice cake shaped bowls as a...yes, weird right, vegetable. Only later would it be converted to a tea drink when a substantial Chinese emperor was in his courtyard. This Chinese emperor was a great man. He was fairly hygienic for his era, for he was boiling his water before he drank. Thus, when a tea leaf floated into the pot without him knowing.... Once he saw the boiling was done, he drank the water slowly, yet he was surprised at how refreshing the water was...with such flavour! Now, this is how tea was introduced into a liquid remedy. Although, throughout ancient history and time as we know it, tea has been used as a natural form of healing.