Tea

Do you know who drank tea first? It really is not possible to answer this question but there is a little story about the beginning of tea. According to the legend, about 2737 BC, the Chinese emperor, Shen Nung, who was interested in plants and herbs, was sitting under a tree. His servant gave him a glass of boiled water and some leaves from the tree fell into this glass. Instead of throwing it away, the emperor tried to drink it and liked it. The tree was Camellia Sinensis, and the drink that came from its leaves is what we call tea today. Of course it is not possible to know if this story is true but the first tea drinkers were the Chinese. Tea spread to the world from China. The words for tea also come from two different Chinese dialects. Mandarin and Cantonese: Cha and Amoy te. Tea is a soft drink. It is prepared by pouring hot boiling water over the tea leaves. Tea is one of the most widely drunk beverages. Tea comes from a bush/plant called Camellia Sinensis. After tea is harvested there is a long process of drying it and getting it ready for tea lovers. However, depending on the process we get different types of tea. Here are some:

• Green tea : The tea leaves are dried very quickly in an oven.
• Black tea : The tea leaves oxidize and become rich in their flavor.
• White tea : The tea leaves are picked just as they are starting with silky hair on their leaves.
• Flavored teas : Black tea leaves are mixed with natural flavors. One of the most famous flavored tea is Earl Grey where the black tea is mixed with bergamot oil. Black tea is mostly mixed with fruits or spices. Some types of flavored teas would be vanilla tea, apple tea, orange tea, cinnamon tea etc.

According to the little story about the beginning of tea who drank tea first?