The original shennong herbal is long gone, but a version that was four chapters long the first being general essays. Every couple of months a new themed series of collect teables will be released, such as musicians, philosophers, politicians, or even animals. Whereas most books about tea only skim the surface of teas long and complex history this book goes deep, from the early, mythological beginnings in china to. The best tea grows at higher altitudes and many bushes can be cultivated for over 100 years. The history of tea dates back to ancient china, almost 5,000 years ago. Each series of teas is drawn by a different artists in their unique style. Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water and from sugary turkish rize tea to salty tibetan butter tea, there are almost as many ways of preparing the beverage as there are cultures on the globe. This treaty allowed for trade caravans to cross the borders of both empires peacefully. During the sui dynasty 581617, tea started to be drunk more for its taste than for its medicinal benefits. A brief history of tea in the uk food the guardian. Shennong, also called yandi, was one of the three emperors in the ancient time who was believed to be living in the shennong period about 2700 year ago. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The following information provides further information on the colorful origins and history of tea.
Legends from china and india tea s origin story is infused with a blend of myth and fact and colored by ancient concepts of spirituality and philosophy. Having tasted the resulting brew, of superb fragrance, color and taste, the emperor rejoiced. The history of tea is long and complex, spreading across multiple cultures over the span of thousands of years. History of tea in ancient china, shen nong, shi ji, and. It is amazing how tea had an impact on civilization, its health decreasing cholera because of the water being boiled. Sep 10, 2011 the book of tea, which followed two previous meditations on japanese culture by okakura, became a central text in the orientalist movement of the early 1900s, and captivated poets like eliot and. Chinese legend says that the discovery of tea was an accident that occurred when tea leaves from twigs being used for fire rose up on a column of hot air and subsequently landed in the water being boiled. The book also discusses where the best tea leaves were produced. In the tea book learn where in the world tea is cultivated and how to drink each variety at its best, with steeping notes and stepbystep recipes. It eventually became the oldest book of chinese traditional medicine known as shennong ben cao jing or the classic of herbal medicine. Traditional chinese medicine information, references. Lu yu wrote in the classic of tea or cha jing, tea as a beverage originated with shennong. Eliot jordan, director of tea for peets coffee and tea. Popular folklore, however, attributes the oolong tea origin and history of oolong tea to a humble tea grower from the chinas qing dynasty.
This text has twice as many herbs as the original, arranged by type. Chinese tea culture prospered during the tang dynasty 618 907 because of a famous person, lu yu, tea sage of china. But the sidebars were interesting, and the photographs wonderfully evocative and at times sensual. The reason i love this tea is simply the names its been called. The tea plant, camellia sinensis, was native throughout ancient china and southeast asia. A simple beverage served either hot or iced, tea has fascinated and driven us, calmed and awoken us, for well over two thousand years. The most extensive and wellpresented tea history available, tea. The tea classics wrote by him is a tea encyclopedia, detailing rules concerning various aspects of tea, such as growth areas for tea trees, wares and skills for processing and tasting of tea, and the history of chinese tea.
The medicine book entitled shennong ben cao jing stated that shennong tasted hundreds of herbs, he encountered seventy two poisons daily and used tea as an antidote in chinese legend, shennong died in tea hill chaling county, hunan. Tea is the common name of the camellia sinensis plant which possesses cooling and astringent flavor. Chinese tea, discover chinese tea culture and history. Tea likely originated in the yunnan region during the shang dynasty as a medicinal drink. The book of tea simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A history of tea tells the compelling story of the rise of tea in asia and its eventual spread to the west and beyond. The life and times of the worlds favorite beverage martin, laura c.
Divine husbandman in chinese mythology, second of the mythical emperors, said to have been born in the 28th century bce with the head of a bull and the body of a man. Erling hoh has been a correspondent for archaeology and written on chinese history and culture for natural history and others. He wrote the medical text called pen tsao, the first book in the history of tea. The history of tea is an epic saga, a journey through time and an odyssey across continents. Tcm plays an important part in the medicine world, understanding it through a historical context gives insight to this ancient form of medicine and establishes its validity as a healthcare system. The book of tea, cha no hon is a long essay about the role that tea plays in japanese lifestyle and culture. Also for those who are not particularly interested in the japanese tea ceremony, these books will give those who have a general interest in the japanese culture lots of fascinating eyeopeners with lots of information on the japanese culture. The first two chapters, a brief history of tea and the life of a tea bush were only mildly interesting to be as they covered topics that nearly every book on tea has included. Nations have defined themselves by the tea trade and culturally by their tea ceremonies.
The tea book helps you explore the blends, tastings, and ceremonies from around the world and create your own delicious tea traditions where does tea come from. According to chinese legend, the history of tea began in 2737 b. The firsthand experiences shared in this work underpin their obvious love for all things tea, all around the world. Legend has it that the discovery of tea was made when emperor shen nung of china came across. His experiences inform the book and led him to investigate the early history of tea and the results of his researches reflect little credit on the british empire, while. The main classes of chinese tea discussed below are green tea, yellow tea, white tea, oolong tea, black tea, dark tea or fermented tea and puer tea. Teas produced in this period were mainly tea bricks which were often used as currency. This tome of a book, written by several staff members of the famed montreal tea establishment the camellia sinensis tea house, covers a wealth of knowledge and experience across the spectrum of tea history, agriculture, pick styles, processing methods, tasting notes for examples of tea styles, brewing recommendations, 5star chef recipes, and a section on the latest tea. The worlds most widely consumed beverage, all tea comes from the tropical plant known as camellia senensis.
A teapot is the vessel used to infuse tea leaves in hot water and consists of a pouring spout which can have a builtin strainer, a handle, a lid sometimes with a small hole to alleviate pressure when pouring, and the main vessel, usually globular in shape. This fact led to one of americas most famous events, the boston tea. Shennong is also known as wugushen five grains, or wuguxiandi first deity of the five grains. An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century ad, in a medical text written by hua tuo. It was written by okakura kakuzo, and was published in 1906. There are 365 entries of medicaments and descriptions that divided to 3 volumes. According to the classic of tea written by lu yu in tang dynasty 618 907 ad, the practice of tea drinking started since shennong also known as emperor of the five grains. An updated edition of the worlds best tea book acclaimed by the 2014 world tea awards. For all the tea in china by sarah rose and the true history of tea by victor h mair and erling hohhuw bowen contrasts two histories of our love affair with tea. Tea in america in the mid 1600s, the dutch were actively involved in trade with the western world.
Encompassing history and modernity, fact and lore, they have laid out as complete a book on the tea plant and beverage as has been published in many years. Through essential details and illustrations, we aim to be built a valuable resource for the public and professionals. The divine farmer who discovered tea first teasenz. A brief history of herbalism the use of plants for medicinal purposes. The birthplace of tea the history of tea dates back to ancient china, almost 5,000 years ago. May 16, 2017 tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water and from sugary turkish rize tea to salty tibetan butter tea, there are almost as many ways of preparing the beverage as. How a drink shaped an empire sarah roses for all the tea in china tells the story of how britain hijacked control of the 19th century tea trade by transplanting production of the. Being naturally adventurous and a keen herbalist, shennong tried this brew and the rest about tea as known today is history. Mair is professor of chinese language and literature at the university of pennsylvania and the author of many books including the true history of tea and the tarim mummies. And although every scholar of chinese history acknowledges this as a fact, to our great regret no known original text exists or at least nothing that we can perform a carbon dating test on.
Tea in china is a history of chinas national drink, where it came from, how it was drunk, and the place it has occupied in chinese society from prehistory to the present. The bestknown constituent of tea is caffeine, which gives the beverage its stimulating character but contributes only a little to colour, flavour, and aroma. My alltime favourite will forever be oolygoolgone tea. Apr 06, 2009 the true history of tea is almost the history of human beings. He is also believed to have introduced the technique of acupuncture. Peter stuyvesant was the first to bring tea to the colonists of america. Whipped powdered tea became fashionable during the song dynasty 9601279. This book is a fascinating history of tea and the spreading of tea throughout the world. You will have chance to pick tea leaves in a tea plantation, learn the process of stirfrying tea, and visit the china national tea museum to learn chinese tea classification and history. An important moment for the history of tea trade between china and russia, was the establisment of the treaty of nerchinsk in 1689. Good tea books are essential to learning about the basics of tea.
From the chinese tea houses of the ancient tang dynasty 618907 to the japanese tea ceremonies developed by zen buddhist monks, and the current social issues faced by tea growers in india and sri lankathis fascinating book. The valuable work of shennong was remembered and handed down to generations. This suggests that even at this early point in history much knowledge about tea had already been accumulated. Addressed to a western audience, it was originally written in english and is one of the great english tea classics. Generally, it is consumed in combination with boiling water or cold water. The life and times of the worlds favorite beverage. A history of the drink that changed the world griffiths, john c. Today, the ancient beverage is widely consumed and has become apart of modern life. In agriculture shennong reportedly discovered modern crops like wheat, rice, millet, bean, and sorghum.
Being a keen herbalist, he tried this brew and the rest about tea is history. He was immediately interested in the pleasant scent of the resulting brew, and drank some. The tea plant grows best in a warm climate with long sunlit days, cool nights and an abundance of rainfall. The tea culture was highlighted in a book by lu yu 780 a. It was also during this period that china began to use tea as a currency, bartering tea bricks with her mongolian neighbors for items such as herbal medicines, horses, wool and musk.
Legends proclaim that one late evening, after a day of plucking, the tea. At the request of the tea merchants, the cha ching tea book appeared. Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water and from sugary turkish rize tea to salty tibetan butter tea, there are almost as many ways of preparing the beverage as. The following books are the most popular among beginning and advanced students of the tea ceremony. Next article s3e01 true to his word wan bi gui zhao. About 4 percent of the solids in fresh leaf is caffeine, and one teacup of the beverage contains 60 to. Tea bushes cover about six million acres of the earth and are harvested every week during the almost yearlong growing season.
The oldest known list of medicinal herbs is shen nungs pen tsao or shennong ben cao jing c. This tome of a book, written by several staff members of the famed montreal tea establishment the camellia sinensis tea house, covers a wealth of knowledge and experience across the spectrum of tea history, agriculture, pick styles, processing methods, tasting notes for examples of tea styles, brewing recommendations, 5star chef recipes, and a section on the latest tea science circa 2011. A history and guide to the great edwardian tradition by vicky straker isbn. Tea today is perceived as the quintessential british drink, but it has a long and complex history. The history, the different types of tea, and how theyre processed are all things to. The ancient chinese, indians, egyptians, babylonians, and native americans were all herbalists. Along the way, evans looks at the myths surrounding the development of tea. The teas make great gifts and fit perfectly in the teabook a revolutionary way to store, share and serve tea. It contains the latest information on tea history, countries of origin, production methods, grading, tasting notes and more. Green tea green tea remains the oldest and most popular type of tea.
The first story said that shennong often went to the mountains to collect herbs in order to treat peoples diseases. Where did this beverage originate, and how did it become so popular. The history of tea according to chinese legend, tea was first discovered in 2727 bc, when the emperor shen nong was purifying water in the shelter of a tea tree, and several leaves blew into the pot. Its longevity rivals almost all other customs and trades. Here is one of the most popuar tours for inspiration. Yet, an important barrier to success was the distance. It was written by lu yu, a noted chinese author and tea expert. The book covered everything from how to grow tea plants and cultivate them, brewing of tea and a complicated formal tea ceremony which used twenty seven pieces of equipment. Camellia sinensis, commonly known as tea, is grown in tea gardens and estates around the world.
Although oolong tea history can be traced back to fujian, there are no official records that can identify when the first oolong tea was made. The new tea companion is an essential guide to all the major tea producing countries in the world. Shennong is venerated as the father of chinese medicine. The amount of interest in this forgotten tea has been through this particular piece of writing, where i uncover just what makes oolong unique and how it travelled through history to meet with you. According to the history of tea, shennong was the first one who used tea. Emperor shen nung discovered tea when leaves from a wild tree blew into his pot of boiling water. The story of tea begins with a journey along the tea trail, from the lush forests of china, where tea cultivation first flourished, to the buddhist temples of japan, to the vast tea gardens of india, and beyond. Shennong described wild tea growing on the hills of ichow and how to harvest and dry. The life and times of the worlds favorite beverage martin, laura. Of more interest to us is the chinese medical book, the herbal, which is said to have first been written about 2,500bc, based of previous medical knowledge which could date back to 4,000bc. It is difficult to tell who invented tea or where and how the first cup of tea came to be brewed.
The history of tea started from china and it spread to various parts of world. He is thought to have taught the chinese how to practice agriculture, the use of herbal drugs, the application of plantbased medicine, and acupuncture. The book of tea, cha no hon by okakura kakuzo 1906 is a long essay linking the role of chado teaism to the aesthetic and cultural aspects of japanese life. Legend says the emperor described a warm feeling as.
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