As with coffee, there are many legends surrounding the origins of tea drinking. The most popular is that which tells how Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was boiling some water under a tree which happend to be a Carmelia sinensis. Some leaves fell into the pot and rather than discard the water, the Emporer drank it. He was so delighted with the brew that he begani to cultivate. This was around 2700 B.C. So, if true, tea has been around a long time.
Even though tea is believed to have originated in India, the earliest evidence for it is in 4th century China. However, it wasn’t brewed as we do today. Rather, the leaves were boiled with spices, rice or nuts, or dried and powdered then made into a drink much like we make cocoa today. Making tea with boiling water did not become popular till the Ming dynasty from the 14th century.
From China tea drinking spread to Japan and in the 17th century the Dutch brought it to Holland. From there it found went to France and Britain. Initially it was very expensive due, in part, to the very high taxes on it and so was only enjoyed by the wealthy. As a result of a burgeoning tea smuggling industry, taxes were eventually reduced and tea became popular with everyone.
In India tea cultivation began in earnest around 1820. Plantations flourished in India and Ceylon and Indian tea soon overtook Chinese tea in popularity in Britain and the USA.
Growing Tea
Tea is a member of the camellia family and is grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world. It requires a warm wet climate with at least 125-130 cm of rain a year. Although regarded as a bush it is really a tree which can grow to 15 metres. In a plantation, the plant is normally pruned to a height of around 1.5 metres. It will grow at altitudes of up to 2200 metres and the finer quality tea is produced at these higher altitudes since growth is slower and the crop is smaller.
Harvesting takes place 5 times in 7 months in cooler climates and about every 10 days in the tropics during the harvesting period. The best tea comes from the small young shoots and the upopened leaf buds. Harvesting is very labour intensive as no machine can match a skilled tea-picker who can collect up to 35 kg of leaf tea in a day. Once dried this produces about 9 kg of packaged tea.
There are many varieties and blends of tea available today due the the large number of commercial tea growers. Considering that the tea will be drunk, it is wise to ensure that you purchase tea leaves that do not have pesticides on them. Thankfully, there are growing numbers of organic tea producers to satisfy the organic and health markets. One such company is Numi who skillfully blend a variety of organic teas.
Numi partners with tea growers around the world to create the highest quality, premium organic and fair trade tea with no artificial oils or flavorings. As well as loose leaf tea, Numi also has available teabags, tea gift sets, iced tea, bottled tea, loose tea, and teaware.
