Tea History

Tea History

This divine drink is mentioned in ancient Chinese manuscripts from 2,700 BC.

Most scientists consider China to be the birthplace of tea.

The advent of tea is covered with many legends, and who knows, maybe one of them & mdash; used

The origin of the tea leaf comes from the learned monk Tcai-ye, who cut off his eyelids and threw them away so that his eyes would not stick together and would leave him more time to work on priceless manuscripts. Cilia-like teapots have grown from these eyelids.

There is another legend about how tea began to be introduced into everyday life. It is said that in 2737, before the Nativity of Christ, the emperor Shen-Nung (Shen Nong), who ruled in China at that time, was distinguished by a special commitment to enlightenment. He invented agriculture and, in particular, crops such as wheat, rice, millet and salt, as well as medicine. Taking care of the health of his subjects, the wise emperor ordered to boil water for drinking everywhere.

Once, on a hot summer day, Shen Nung rested sitting in the shade of a small bushy tree. Suffering from thirst, the emperor waited for the water that had just boiled in accordance with his own innovation to cool down in the bowler hat. A slight breath of breeze stirred the tree, and the dozing Shen Nung did not notice how the three leaves slowly fell directly into the cauldron of water.

After some time, the emperor swallowed from the bowler hat, and & ndash; oh miracle! & ndash; he had never tried anything like it before. A new drink, born by the will of providence, gave him unprecedented strength and clarity of mind & hellip;

In the III-IV centuries AD e. tea as a plant in China began to be cultivated already on the plantation, turning its crown into a low bush, so that it was more convenient to harvest leaves. As a pioneer of tea culture, China soon becomes a monopoly of its production. Tea tree culture is gradually spreading to other countries in the East, and later in the West.

Tea in Russia

The official history of tea drinking in Russia begins in 1638, when the Mongol ruler Altyn Khan sent 4 pounds of outlandish dry leaf as a gift to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. But the first acquaintance of Russian people with tea occurred much earlier, when there was a Tatar-Mongol yoke in Russia.

At the same time, there were Russian contacts with the Chinese in China. In 1269, for example, a Russian diocese existed in Beijing. And later, for a number of reasons, Russian people visited China and, of course, voluntarily or involuntarily joined the local lifestyle, knew well what tea was. Russian merchants could also get acquainted with tea by communicating with Chinese merchants.

Tea reached the direct route from Beijing to Moscow much later, in 1665.

Ambassador Perfiliev brought it. In 1679, an agreement was concluded with China on the constant supply of tea to Russia. From Moscow, the fashion for tea went to the deep regions of Russia. The peoples of Transbaikalia and Siberia were the first to get used to it.

We learned to drink this drink on all continents of the Earth, grow & mdash; only in Asia. For many centuries, this occupation remained a Chinese secret. But it was also unraveled. In 1874, a tea bush brought from Paris was planted in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden of Crimea. It was propagated here. However, it did not take root, so cuttings from there were brought to Georgia in 1874, where they acclimatized, developed well and subsequently gave seeds. Since then, Georgian tea began to delight not only Georgia, Russia, but also residents of many other countries.

From Georgia, tea gradually began to move elsewhere. In 1900, small plots were laid in Azerbaijan, in 1936 & mdash; in the Krasnodar Territory of Russia. Thus appeared & laquo; Georgian & raquo;, & laquo; Azerbaijani & raquo; and & laquo; Krasnodar & raquo; tea. Moreover, & laquo; Krasnodar & raquo; & mdash; the most fragrant of these brands.

Each country has its own culture of tea consumption. However, from the point of view of a Chinese (who grew up in one of the 18 tea provinces) The West does not know what real tea is, and the entire Western history of tea is just a chain of misunderstandings that gave rise to perverse taste preferences. China has been familiar with tea for more than five millennia. This fact puts Chinese teas in a very special category of cultural phenomena.

Tea as medicine