EDITORIAL TEA
But where did tea originate? And
an extremely fine powder.
whom can we thank for its discovery?
Then water was added to it
It is in fact extremely hard to thank
and the mixture was stirred
anyone in particular for the discovery
thoroughly. During the Ming
as the origins of tea are steeped in
Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) this
legend. A personal favourite is that
method of brewing tea was
of the Chinese Emperor Shen Nong.
banned. So they invented a
Back in 2737BC the Emperor was
new method of brewing, the
boiling water to drink when some
traditional method that is stil
leaves blew from a tree and landed
used today, tea in a pot. Of
into the water. Imagine his surprise
course this then led to the
when the leaves began to diffuse and create an entirely new taste.
creation of teapots and tea sets, many of the items that are still popular household items today. China began to
For many years in China tea was used for its varying medicinal purposes, however during the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) tea moved away from being solely a drink to drink for health purposes and gradually
connect the rest of the world with tea. What had begun with the filtering of tea through social
classes
became
exportation, and tea becoming a loved drink worldwide.
became a drink to enjoy. Teahouses became
extremely
popular
and
various methods of brewing tea were
Initially China traded tea with
experimented
method
the rest of Asia, however, in
involved grinding the tealeaves in
the 17th century tea arrived
a pestle and mortar until it was
in Europe. The first country to
with.
One
Issue 21 | November 2015
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