About Tea  »  the Origin of Tea

the Origin of Tea

There are several legends concerning the origin of Tea. According to one Chinese legend, tea was discovered some 5,000 years ago in 2727 B.C. by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung while boiling water to drink. Some tea leaves were blown into his pot of boiling water by a gust of wind. He drank the water and felt refreshed. From that moment forward, he drank a cup of tea everyday and hence the culture of tea drinking began.

According to another Chinese legend, about 5,000 years ago The Holy Farmer (Shen Nung), who was also the God of Farming, not only invented farming tools and taught people how to till the land, but also introduced people to the medicinal benefits of tea as the God of Medicine. One day as he was experimenting with different wild plants to ascertain their effect on the human body, he was poisoned seventy-two times. That day, he discovered the tea plant, brewed its leaves and drank the liquid. He discovered that as a result of his tea consumption, the toxins in his body were gone. Hence, the medicinal benefits of tea were introduced.

It is not clear whether the tea plant existed in China and India simultaneously, or whether the tea plant was transported from China to India, or vice versa. Another theory is that the wild camellias were indigenous to southeast Asia, northern Thailand, eastern Burma, southwest China, northeast India and upper Indochina simultaneously. Wherever it originated, thank goodness for its existence.

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