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The
earliest
historians attributed the Indian tea story with a legendary aura. They
also portrayed the picture of the first person who planted tea as an
impudent adventurer who established an industrial empire in a dense forest
where life was difficult; he was fighting against the extreme dislike of
forest people; he was a wrestler against the wild animals, killing
insects. Yet the true story wasn't that mythological, since thousands of
people were involved in tea industry in India.
Ancient
India's first acquaintance with the tea plant is uncertain, the only
reference is "Ramayana" one of the immortal Indian legends. It
is said that when Lord Rama's brother was wounded in the battle with
Ravana, his elder brother sent Hanuman to the Himalayas to fetch the
Sanjeevani plant. According to the legend, Hanuman failed to recognize the
plant, instead he brought all plants he found. When the Sanjeevani plant
was put on the man's wounds he was cured. Sanskrit researchers believed
that this plant was a desert shrub from which tea was being extracted.
Moreover,
Japanese and Chinese legends talk about a strong relation between India
and the origin of tea. These legend stories mentioned that tea plants were
carried from India and were planted in China. Why not? Since time
immemorial, India and China have witnessed flourishing relation, both
commercial and religious exchanges. The plant might also be described as a
medicinal herb if not a fermented drink.
In
the absence of historical references, it would be difficult to specify a
date when the habit of drinking tea spread in ancient and Medieval India.
The first credible reference was that of the German explorer John Prechit
Von Mandelislo who travelled to Persia in 1630. During his visit, he fell
ill in 1637 so he went on a naval trip for treatment. In describing his
trip, he wrote, "Our trip to Surat took 19 days during which the
captain was very kind to me. Gradually I restored my health, yet I
shouldn't disregard the effect of tea on my health. Since then I got used
to drinking tea twice or thrice a day". Thus by the beginning of the
17th century, drinking tea became one of the habits of the aristocrats who
used to drink the Chinese tea after preparing it according to the "Mang"
method.
After
the British colonization, India became a transit point for the Chinese tea
on its way to, Europe. However the East India Company which monopolised
the tea trade with China showed no inclination to introduce the tea plant
in India.
Since
the Chinese tea sent to Britain was exchanged for silver, the British
means were dwindling. The political churnings in China and the growing
dispute between the British traders and Chinese authorities contributed to
Britain's search for an alternative tea destination by the end of the 18th
century.
In
1774, a shipment of tea reached India in order to be planted all along the
country. Thus the establishment of tea industry in India depended upon the
vagaries of coincidences, the greatest of which was the discovery of the
tea plant in Assam. It was only a vast forest that could only be utilised
for tea plantation. When the British realized Assam as a potential
tea-growing area, they assassinated Assam's governor and brought it under
the British domination especially when they were in a dire need of the
Indian tea and the monopoly of the East India Company over tea trade was
diminishing. Yet even after preparing Assam for tea plantation, the
British never forgot their deep fond of the Chinese tea and continued tea
imports from China, though this tea used to lose its aroma due to the long
journey.
Ironically,
the British continued their search of tea plants while it was growing in
their own vicinity. They had even uprooted those tea plants while
preparing the land for plantation. This land was later known for producing
the best variety of tea. These series of coincidences continued till the
whole mystery was revealed and thus India was crowned as the empress on
the throne of tea industry.
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I N D I A
A T H I R S T T E A N A T I O N
Tea
or Chai as it more popularly known in
India has always been the staple Drink of Indians, besides being a
refreshing beverage with the common man, tea has also been a favourite
among the health conscious but recent scientific research indicates that
tea may have significant positive health benefits.
To
understand the health benefits of tea we must look out the properties of
teas that are most frequently referred to in the reports.
H I S T O R Y
O F T E A
Tea is the second most popular beverage in the world, after
water.
It is estimated that somewhere between 18 to 20 billion cups of tea are
drunk daily in our planet.
An extension of numbers would indicate that the United
States only imports enough tea annually to keep world usage rates going
for 2 days.
India is the country with the most tea consumption in the
world – an average of 651,000 metric tons per year.
Do you want to know how tea evolved over the centuries?
If not, read on:
2737 BC:
The Second Emperor,
Shen Nung known as the Divine Healer first discovered tea in China.
350 AD:
The first description of drinking tea is written in a Chinese dictionary.
400 – 600:
The demand for tea rose steadily. Rather than harvest leaves from wild
trees, farmers began to develop ways to cultivate tea. Tea was commonly
made into roasted cakes, which were then pounded into small pieces and
placed in a china pot. After adding boiling water, onion, spices, ginger
or orange were introduced to produce many regional variations.
618 – 906:
Tang Dynasty. Powdered tea became the fashion of the time. Nobility made
it a popular pastime. Caravans carried tea on the Silk Road, trading with
India, Turkey and Russia.
780:
Poet Lu Yu wrote the first book of tea, making him a living a living
saint, patronized by the Emperor himself. The book described methods of
cultivation and preparation.
805:
The Buddhist monk Saicho brought tea seeds to Japan from China.
960 – 1280:
Sung dynasty. Tea was used widely. Powdered tea had become common.
Beautiful ceramic tea accessories were made during this time. Dark-blue,
black and brown glazes, which contrasted with the vivid green of the
whisked tea, were favoured.
1101 – 1125:
Emperor Hui Tsung wrote about the best ways to make whisked tea. A strong
patron of the tea industry, he had tournaments in which members of the
court identified different types of tea. Legend has it that he became so
obsessed with tea that he hardly noticed the Mongols who overthrew his
empire.
During his reign, teahouses built in natural settings
became popular among the Chinese.
1191:
Eisai Myoan, the monk
who brought Zen Buddhisim to Japan, returned from a trip to China with tea
seeds, which he planted on the grounds of his temple near Kyoto. Eisai
experimented with different ways to brew tea, finally adopting the Chinese
whisked tea.
1206 – 1368:
Yuan Dynasty. Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan conquered Chinese territories
and established a Mongolian dynasty in power for more than a century. Tea
became an ordinary drink, never regaining the high status it once enjoyed.
Marco Polo was not even introduced to tea when he visited.
1368 – 1644:
Ming Dynasty. People again began to enjoy tea. The new method of
preparation was steeping whole leaves in water. The resulting pale liquid
necessitated a lighter colour ceramic than was popular in the past. The
white and off white tea-ware produced became the style of the time. The
first Yixing pots were made at this time.
1422 – 1502:
A Zen priest named Murata Sukho, who had devoted his life to tea, created
the Japanese tea ceremony. The ceremony is called “Cha No Yu,” which means
“hot water for tea.”
1610:
The Dutch brought tea to Europe from China, trading dried sage in
exchange.
1618:
Chinese ambassadors presented Czar Alexis with a gift of several chests of
tea.
1657:
Tea was first sold in England at Garway’s Coffee House in London. The East
India Company operated out of several sites in the City of London, first
in Philpot Lane, Fenchurch, then it took a lease on Lord Northampton’s
mansion, Crosby Hall, Bishopgate and then in 1658 another move before it
finally leased Lord Craven’s House in Leadenhall Street. Under the terms
of a charter granted by Elizebeth I, The East India Company owned all
trading rights and controlled the sale of those imported goods back to
Britain.
1661:
The Taiwanese began to drink wild tea.
1662:
Charles II took Catherine Braganza of Portugal as his wife. The both drank
tea, creating a fashion for it. Its popularity among the aristocracy
caused alcohol beverages to fall from favour.
1669:
Close to 150 pounds of tea were shipped to England. Until 1669, most of
the tea drunk in Britain was bought from the Dutch.
1689:
Traders with three hundred camels traveled 11,000 miles to China and back
in order to supply Russia’s demand. The trip took sixteen months.
1697:
In Taiwan, settlers of Formosa’s Nantou County cultivated the first
domestic bushes. Dutch ships carried the tea to Persia, the first known
export of Taiwanese tea.
1705: The
yearly importation of tea to England grew to approximately 800,000 pounds.
1706:
The first auction
dedicated to tea took place in Craven House, which became known as the
East India House. The East India Company auctions were held quarterly.
Such early auctions were “Sold by the Candle,” a system whereby a candle
was marked off in inches, it was lit when the bidding began, the hammer
was brought down as the first inch line was reached and so on down the
candle for each lot.
1710:
Wealthy American Colonists developed a taste for tea.
1773:
The Tea Act of 1773 giving the East India Company control of trading in
the Americas imposed the same taxes and levies on the colonists as paid by
the British. Objection led to an act of rebellion known as the Boston Tea
Party in December 1773, which is commonly viewed as a first step towards
the American War of Independence. Under cover of night, colonists dressed
as Native Americans boarded the East India Company ships in Boston Harbor.
They opened chests of tea and dumped their contents into the water. This
was repeated in other less known instances up and down the coast.
1776:
China was the main tea source of eighteenth century. Ceylon (now known as
Sri Lanka), Central and Eastern African countries were sending teas to the
London Auction.
1833:
The East India Company enjoyed its monopoly for two and a half centuries.
Independent merchants campaigned for change and modernization, which was
achieved in 1833.
1834:
An imperial edict from the Chinese Emperor closed all Chinese ports to
foreign vessels until the end of the First Opium War in 1842.
Royal Assent was given to the Bill who rescinded the
charter given to the East India Company; this came into force on 22nd,
April 1834. The brokers began to look for new premises and found a dancing
studio in Exchange Alley, City of London. In November 1834 the tea
auctions were moved again to the newly built London Commercial Salesrooms,
Mincing Lane and remained there until 30th January 1937 when
they moved down the lane to Plantation House.
1840:
Clipper ships, built in America, sped up the transportation to tea to
America and Europe, livening the pace of trade. Some ships could make the
trip from Hong Kong to London in ninety-five days. Races to London became
commonplace; smugglers and blockade runners also benefited from the
advances in sailing speeds.
1870:
Twinings of England began to blend tea for consistency.
Tea companies began to blossom in Britain by late
nineteenth century blending, branding and packaging were giving the public
a wide variety of choice.
1900:
Trans-Siberian railroad made transport to Russia cheaper and faster. Java
became an important producer as well.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the London Tea
Auction had grown in importance. Most working days of the week were
allotted to a particular country’s sale with minor suppliers being herded
together on convenient days.
1904:
Richard Blechynden created iced tea for the St. Louis World Fair.
1909:
Thomas Sullivan
invented tea bags in New Your, sending tea to clients in silk bags, which
they began to mistakenly steep without opening.
1910:
Sumatra, Indonesia grows and exports tea. Soon thereafter, tea is grown in
Kenya and other parts of Africa.
1918:
A National Tea Control was brought in, tea was split into three grades and
sold at a fixed retail price of two shillings and eight pence, the
equivalent of three and a half modern pence.
1919:
The London Tea Auction resumed on 5th May 1919.
1920 – 1930:
The tea trade suffered a slump like most other industry in Britain.
However the tea trade found export markets to fill the gap.
1940:
As Britain recovered, so did the UK tea trade, but again the economy
collapsed with World War II. In 1940 tea was rationed, this remained until
October 1952.
1952:
The London Tea Auction resumed and took place in Plantation House until it
moved to Sir John Lyon House on 8th February 1971. Since then
the tea trade has seen the introduction of the off shore auction, tea sold
by the container whilst on route for the UK and the growth of the producer
countries’ own auctions due to increased volumes.
1970:
The Taiwanese government encouraged its population to drink tea,
revitalizing tea culture on the island.
1998:
In the last twenty
years the frequency of and volumes sold at the London Tea Auction have
declined. In 1990 the auction moved to The London Chamber of Commerce
where it closed in 1998.
2006:
India is the
country with the most tea consumption in the world – an average of 651,000
metric tons per year. China is second, and consumes about 463,000 metric
tons per year. USA is number one consumer of iced tea, with between 80%
and 85% of our total tea consumed that way.[^TOP] |
