The Invention of Tea: Its Origins and Development History
Where Was Tea Invented?
Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world, considered the best natural drink after plain water. In China, people drink tea as frequently as they drink water. The history of tea is long, and nearly all historical records and studies point to China as the birthplace of tea. Not only did China discover the tea plant, but it was also China that spread the tea-making process and cultivation techniques to the world. This article will explore the country where tea was invented, focusing on the origin of the tea plant, the evolution of tea-making techniques, and the development of the tea trade.
China is the Birthplace of Tea
From a botanical perspective, all tea comes from a plant called Camellia sinensis. Native areas of this plant are mainly distributed in the southwest of China, northern Myanmar, and northeastern India. Among them, China's Yunnan Province is considered the cradle of tea, as it has discovered many ancient wild tea trees. Some of the ancient tea trees in Yunnan are over a thousand years old, serving as a witness to the long history of tea culture.
In Mengku Daxueshan, Lincang City, Yunnan Province, a large ancient wild tea tree forest has hidden in the deep mountains for thousands of years, at an altitude of 2,200 to 2,750 meters. It wasn't until 1997, during a rare drought, that nearby villagers accidentally discovered this area, which is home to the world's highest, most widespread, and densest group of wild ancient tea trees. Experts speculate that these are more than 2,700-year-old ancient Chinese tea trees and as such, the oldest known wild tea trees in the world. These trees grow as tall as 20 meters and stand as a vivid example of evidence for China's origin of tea.
The same is supported by the findings of archaeology also. In 1980, Lu Qiming, expert of Guizhou Provincial Agricultural Bureau Tea, found in Qilong County a wild tea field, with the only tea fruit fossil existing in the world. Certain tests made by some institutions such as Nanjing Institute of Geology, Palaeontological institute of the Chinese Academy of Science proved that this kind of tea fossil is around 1 million years ago. In addition to the fossil, many ancient tea trees were found in Guizhou Province. In Puan County, 19 tea trees over 2,000 years old were found, which are the largest and oldest cultivated tea trees in China. Up to now, Guizhou Province has discovered 120 ancient tea trees.
Development History of Tea and the Spread of Tea Craft
China is generally considered the birthplace of tea. According to legend, the discovery of tea dates back to 2737 BC when a tribal leader, Emperor Shen Nong of China, was boiling water under a tree. A few tea leaves fell into the water by chance, creating a fragrant beverage. After tasting it, Shen Nong found tea not only had a refreshing taste but also had a medicinal property capable of treating various diseases. Thereafter, tea gradually entered the daily life of ancient Chinese people. The use of tea in China evolved in several stages: from its initial medicinal use to later becoming a food, and finally a beverage. Below are the stages of this historical evolution.
Time: Around 4,700 years ago, during the reign of Emperor Shen Nong.
Process: During this stage, tea was discovered to have detoxifying effects. People began to eat fresh tea leaves directly to extract tea juice for medicinal purposes. Over time, this habit of chewing tea leaves evolved into a preference.
Time: Spring and Autumn Period (770–475 BC).
Process: Tea gradually became from the medicinal product to be a type of food ingredient. Cleaning fresh tea leaves and stir-frying them into porridge or dishes with seasoning, rice, and other ingredients can be consumed as tea porridge and tea dishes; this dish is widely followed nowadays in some minority groups, south western regions of China develop the custom of using fresh tea leaves as food in their cuisine.
Time: Starting from the Qin and Han dynasties, it was in the Tang and Song dynasties that dramatic changes happened in tea-drinking methods.
Process: The Qin and Han dynasties laid the groundwork as tea began to break its medicinal confines and gradually formed into a category of drinker's daily consumption. For the first time, records were documented in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces regarding the cultivation of the tea plant. From the Tang and Song.
Dynasties to the present, tea drinking evolved from boiling tea in the Tang Dynasty to whisking in the Song Dynasty and then to brewing in the Ming Dynasty. The way of brewing tea in the Ming Dynasty was placing the tea leaves in teapots or teacups and brewing them with boiling water; thus, it became the foundation of the modern way of brewing tea
The tea-processing technology was developed over thousands of years in China, with the result of different sorts of teas: green, black, white, oolong, and Pu-erh tea. Some of them were invented in China: for example, the process of fermentation in black tea emerged in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian Province during late Ming and early Qing dynasties. First to market black tea variety, Lapsang Souchong black tea introduced fermentation as a new technique and provided the template for global black tea production. The art of black tea processing subsequently spread to Europe in the 17th century via the Dutch traders, and the production technique was further developed in India and Sri Lanka. White tea's natural withering and drying technique is exclusively used in China. White tea is a special category of lightly processed tea; the original withering and drying processes were from Fujian Province. It is actually the most natural form of tea processing. Steaming in green tea was brought to Japan during the Tang dynasty and formed the basis for Japanese matcha and sencha.
Tea Trade and Global Spread
China's role in global tea trade further solidified its status as the "birthplace of tea." As early as ancient times, tea spread to Central Asia and the Middle East via the Silk Road. In the 16th century, Portuguese and Dutch merchants introduced tea to Europe, where it quickly became a luxury item among the nobility. Later, it was that the British East India Company monopolized the tea trade, and henceforth, tea became an indispensable part of British culture. Longjing tea, Silver Needle white tea, and Jasmine are some of the Chinese teas that gained popularity in the UK and hence played a significant role in British afternoon tea culture.
In the late 19th century, as countries like India and Sri Lanka began planting tea and learning Chinese tea-making techniques, these regions became important tea producers. However, the planting and processing techniques they adopted all came from China. Over time, China's dominance in the international tea market gradually diminished. New China was established, and soon afterward, China regained its competitive edge in the global tea market, especially with the two popular teas, Pu-erh and green tea. However, Chinese tea, as the place of origin, is surely incomparable.
Conclusion
From the origin of the tea plant to the invention and spread of tea-making techniques, this process clearly demonstrates China's important position as the "birthplace of tea." The China ancient tea forests and the discovery of tea fossils provide irrefutable evidence that tea originated in China. Over a long period of time, the Chinese transformed tea from a medicine to a daily drink, developing various techniques for making tea and inventing iconic tea varieties such as green tea, black tea, and white tea, laying the foundation for global tea culture.
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