The Story Behind the Invention of Tea

Tea is a renowned drink, enjoyed hot and cold by people across the world. Just like the teapot, the story behind the invention of tea has a long history. Here we list the main points about the invention of tea and discuss how it became so widely appreciated all over the world.

A Chinese invention

Tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world apart from water. It is hard to imagine, but all tea originated from China. It has only been within the last 150 years that tea has been cultivated outside of China.

During the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-97) tea was distributed throughout China in many different ways. As dried leaves, pressed cakes and powders. From China tea consumption spread to Japan, Java as well as India and Sri Lanka. Europe did not begin importing tea until the early 17th century.

It is suggested that Chinese Tea was cultivated for medical purposes as far back as the 12th century B.C.

The famous story of the emperor who discovered tea

There is a story about the emperor who is said to have invented tea. It is estimated that in 2737 B.C. the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was boiling water outside when a leaf from a bush fell into the water. Before pulling them out of the water he began to smell the aroma of the leaves brewing. He tasted it, enjoyed its flavour and tea was born.

The introduction of tea across the globe

It was Portuguese and Dutch traders that first bought tea to Europe with consistent shipments by 1610. Although well-known as a country of avid tea-drinkers, England was relatively late to the tea trade. The first samples of tea arrived in England between 1652 and 1654 and initially the drink was seen as more of a medicine for ailments.

Coffee houses in London soon adopted selling tea and by 1700 over 500 of them were selling it both freshly brewed and the tea leaves as well. By 1750 tea had become the favourite drink for many across England. Thus began the huge trend for elaborate teapots and afternoon and morning tea events.

America were a few years ahead of England, being introduced to tea a few years earlier by colonist, Peter Stuyvesant.

The health benefits of drinking tea

There is no denying the health benefits of drinking tea. Tea contains a high level of antioxidants such as polyphenols, flavanoids and catechins which help the body fight against disease.

Tea also contains fluoride which is good for your teeth and helps to fight bacteria, controls the formation of plaque and fights bad breath.

There is no doubt that tea can help lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and help your mind and body relax.

Some teas have different health benefits to others. Some are higher in antioxidants and aid different things.

Much research has been done into the argument of whether or not tea helps fight cancer, alzheimer's and other diseases.

Tea is a great drink not only for it's health benefits, but also a delicious warm drink to be brewed and served for when you have guests or simply if you feel like a nice soothing drink to help you unwind.

About the Author

Teapot Shop has a huge range of higher end, designer teapots with discounted prices. For more information or to view the range of products, visit Teapot

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Lazy Sunday UK (We Drink Tea)

England Tea

So, you drink PG Tips Tea. Have you ever wondered if it is healthy for you? Most studies on tea's health benefits involve the green variety. Although it is not as well-known, research has been done into the health benefits of PG Tips.

The first area PG Tips may help with is very topical. It may help in the fight against obesity. Japan's Kobe University conducted a study which showed tea may help people trying to lose weight. Specifically, tea can help limit the amount of weight gained as well as reduce the damages of high fat foods. In the study, some mice had a normal diet while another group had a high-fat diet. Mice drank tea and water. The study concluded that mice that drank tea gained less weight than those that had only water.

PG Tips also may help with one of the world's biggest health problems. The finding of 13-year long Dutch research of 40,000 subjects concluded that a few cup per day could help protect against heart disease. Subjects that consumed 6 or more cups per day cut heart disease by 33%.

It also can help you with one of the modern-world's biggest afflictions. University College London discovered that black teas help in fighting stress. Cortisol, the stress hormone in the blood, was reduced with consumption of black tea. Tea drinkers were able to recover from effects of stress sooner.

Actually, the research described above focused on black tea and not a specific brand. But PG Tips may be the world's preeminent brand of black tea. The brand's origins start with Arthur Brooke, a tea dealer, in Manchester, England, in 1869. Famously, he used the slogan "Good tea unites good company, exhilarates the spirits, opens the heart, banishes restraint from conversation and promote happiest purposes of social intercourse."

The actual brand name did not begin until 1930, when it was sold under Pre-Gest-Tea rather than just as loose to grocers. The brand name was chosen since it was thought to help with digestion before eating. Eventually, it was shortened to PG Tips. The company is often at the center of the tea business. The company put the tea in bags in 1960. The company was the first, in 1996, to introduce pyramid-shape bags. A decaffeinated version was introduced in 2004 and a 75th anniversary variety called Special Blend launched in 2005. A version specifically for the waters of Scotland, called Scottish Blend was developed in 2004.

Still made in Manchester, England, PG Tips comes in bags and loose in various sizes. It offers bags in boxes of 80 and 240. PG Tips Loose usually comes in an 8.8 ounce box but also can be had in a 3.3 pound bag. The decaffeinated version comes in boxes of 40 or 80 bags and has a full-bodied taste.

To get maximum health benefits, take a few steps to make the perfect cup. First, use fresh water every time. Never boil water twice. To get maximum taste, tea needs to work with the oxygen in water and if you re-boil it, you remove all the oxygen. For black kinds like PG, make sure water comes to a rolling water. Then, put your bag in your mug and then pour over the water. This step is better for the bag and allows it to infuse better. Steep for between 3 and 5 minutes, depending on how you like it. Add milk or sugar depending on preference.

Be more healthy, drink PG Tips Tea.

Paul Gerst is the founder of teadog.com, an Internet tea retailer. A Bizrate Platinum Circle of Excellence Award Winner, teadog.com offers the leading brands of English Tea, including PG Tips Tea, Taylors of Harrogate, Typhoo Tea and more. You also can find flavored tea, green tea and herbal tea from brands around the world.

What's the difference between the England squad and a tea bag?

The teabag stays in the cup longer.

Bahahahahahahahahahaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am STILL laughing over that one. !

Both leave you with a bad taste after-wards.

Hey Lily, unlike you I was actually pulling for England to win. But if you have so much animosity towards USA that's your prerogative. If you can't have a laugh then don't join the party.

From our dear English friends to the USA:
E-A-S-Y.
"At least we didn't lose to Ghana".

Yeah, it's so tough in England. Frankly, I think if you can dish it out you have to be able to take it, in my opinion.

History of tea drinking in England

Tags: england tea, england tea time, england teaching jobs, england team, england team cricket, food, london, shopping, tea, uk

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 1:03 am and is filed under China. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.