-
2737 BCE
Beginning of Tea
According to Legend, Emperor Shen Nung was sitting under a tree while his servant boiled drinking water. Dried leaves from the Camellia Sinensis tree fell into the pot and infused with the water, creating the first tea infusion. -
206
Discovery
Containers of tea were found in tombs dating from the Han Dynasty. -
Period: 618 to 906
Tang Dynasty
Tea became firmly established as the national drink of China. -
Period: 960 to 1279
A New Recipe
Whipped powdered tea became fashionable during the Song Dynasty, but unfortunately disappeared after the Yuan Dynasty. -
Period: 1279 to 1368
Tea Innovation
Chinese people became accustomed to drinking steeped tea leaves. -
Period: 1550 to
Spread of Tea
Tea spread among Europe, mostly to Portuguese people who lived as traders and missionaries. -
Tea Importation
First to ship back tea to Europe as a commercial import were the Dutch. The first consignment of tea was shipped from China to Holland via Java. -
Imports to Britain
The East India company began to import tea into Britian with a first order of 100 lbs. of China Tea, shipped from Java. -
Taxes and Adulteration
High taxes on tea brought about smuggling and adulteration of tea in Britian. People were unable to afford the expensive prices. -
Smuggling and Adulteration Continue
Tea smuggling and adulteration involved a higher volume of tea than legally imported amount. -
Boston Tea Party
A protest against tea duties that sparked the American war of Independence. This led to the USA becoming an independent nation instead of a group of British colonies. -
British Government
Slashed taxes and made tea more affordable. Smuggling came to an end. -
Monopoly on Tea
East India Company's monopoly on tea came to an end, resulting to growth of tea in British colonies. -
Thomas Sullivan
A New York tea merchant, started to send samples of his tea to customers. He developed the first tea bags. -
Tea Bag Development
Tea bags were developed for commercial production. -
Today
Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world after water. China, India, and Kenya are top producing companies of Tea.