The History Of Tea.

According to Chinese archives, the history of tea was made in the year 2737 BC. The Chinese Emperor Sheen Nung, scholar and herbalist, was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water. A leaf from the tree dropped into the water and Shen Nung  decided to try the brew, the tree was a wild tea tree, and this was the beginning of tea.

From the time loose leaf tea was discovered, the history of tea created a basis that was respectfully considered to be a healthy and refreshing drink, and Buddhist priests introduced it throughout China and Japan. Specifically, in Japan ancient tea ceremonies are considered to be purifying baths of the sixth senses.

The history of tea was discovered in England the year 1644.  Sailors from the Far East brought back gifts of loose leaf tea as presents to their brides and parents. In North America drinking coffee was a common practice instead of drinking loose leaf tea, as the English had levied a tax on tea shipped to its colonies. On December 16, 1773, three ships sailed into Boston’s harbour carrying tea and fifty men disguised themselves as “Indians” wearing traditional Indian attire and  boarded ships owned by the British East India Company. They broke open 342 wooden crates filled with imported loose leaf tea and threw them into the Boston Harbour. This was part of the history of tea and in Boston became known as the “Boston Tea Party” which ultimately led to the American Revolution.

I attended the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum  in September 2009, and was in complete fascination on how even though centuries have passed, you can still the hear revelry of patrionism in the air, and at that time the cost for freedom was  usually a persons life.

Strolling through the ships that replicate the Dartmouth, the Elenor and the Beaver surrounded me with the chronicle events from yesterday and made me understand and truly appreciate how the history of tea and the Boston Tea Party enables us North Americans to appreciate what it means to sip a cup of our favorite loose leaf  tea.