The earliest days of tea drinking is reserved to myths and legends. But the consensus is that tea originated in China, quashing the idea that it is a quintessentially British drink. Furthermore, the Portuguese traders and missionaries who ventured East were the first to bring Chinese tea back to the continent.

1. Top Shelf Concepts
A Drink as Old as Time
Itself:
Tea and Its Prehistoric
Asian Origins

2. The earliest days of tea drinking is reserved to myths and legends. But the consensus is that tea originated
in China, quashing the idea that it is a quintessentially British drink. Furthermore, the Portuguese traders
and missionaries who ventured East were the first to bring Chinese tea back to the continent.
From there, the Dutch and the British East India Company commercialised tea trade. Even then, tea only
entered the British consciousness after King Charles II’s marriage to Catherine of Braganza. Her love of the
drink enamoured the royal courtiers, making it a fashionable beverage. From there, they placed the first tea
order and the British were in love ever since.
By then, tea has already been more than 3,000 years old in China and has been 1,000 years since the
Japanese first brought back tea seeds to their country. That is why despite tea’s storied time in Europe, it
pales in comparison to the god-emperors and kingdoms of its origin.
The God Farmer’s Creation
Shennong was a legendary emperor of China from 2700 BC who discovered tea, according to myths.
Legends relate that leaves blew into his cup of boiling water, changing its colour. An earlier record, by some
2,000 years later, from the Tang Dynasty reveals that from Bodhidarma’s own eyes came the first tea
bushes.

3. The first physical evidence, however, came from the Han Dynasty. Written records, including the words of
the 17th century scholar Gu Yanwu, even say that tea came about much earlier. But the proof discovered in
the mausoleum of Han Emperor Jing is hard to deny as the first actual confirmation that tea is a Chinese
drink.
A Gift to Neighbours
Korea, Japan and Vietnam were the first countries other than China that experienced drinking tea. But none
of them maintained a strong connection to the drink like the Japanese. Much like its first venture in Europe,
tea was a beverage of the upper class. Hundreds of years passed before it became a drink for the people. It
also coincided with the modernising of tea culture, when the Japanese first used teapots.
From then on, tea became available to all people, rich and poor. The world still adores the drink and it has
taken many forms. Nonetheless, knowing a bit of history may help some to appreciate their hot ‘cuppa’ a bit
more.

4. Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tea
http://www.topshelfconcepts.com.au/tea-pots.html
http://www.tea.co.uk/tea-a-brief-history
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/01/26/464437173/worlds-oldest-tea-discovered-in-an-ancient-
chinese-emperors-tomb