Settle in, snuggle up in your blankets, and stay warm. We're going to try to understand the history of teas.
Chinese tea:
Legend has it that I, Chinese tea, was discovered quite by chance while Shen Nong, the father of traditional Chinese medicine, was experimenting with various plants. That was 5,000 years ago. From what I've heard, he ate a tea leaf that had been dampened by the rain and found it delicious.
Indian tea:
Absolutely not! You're completely wrong! It was a valiant Indian man named Dharma who went to China to practice Buddhism. He had decided not to succumb to sleep during the nine years of this pilgrimage. But, my parents told me that after barely three years, he couldn't manage it anymore. It was at that moment that he chewed a tea leaf, picked at random, which restored all his strength. Thanks to it, he completed his journey without even cheating by closing his eyes for a few seconds!
Japanese tea:
Hold on, folks, everything you're saying makes no sense! It's neither Shen Nong nor Dharma, but Bodhi-Dharma. Frustrated at having dozed off, he cut off his eyelids so he would never close his eyes again and furiously threw them to the ground. I'm told that, years later, he discovered a small shrub had blossomed in that spot. Naturally, he decided to taste it and noticed that it had the power to prevent his eyes from closing. Don't ask me how he knew that, with his eyes without eyelids…
Quebec tea:
Come on now! Tea is just a few small leaves in a bag or something you make with hot water. It comes from the shops!
The historian:
Your stories are all far-fetched. I myself have studied its true origin. Tea plants come from China, not India, nor Japan, nor the store. It was popularized during the Tang Dynasty, between 618 and 907.
Matcha tea:
Yes! And we used to make large bricks that we burned to make powder, hence my name "matcha tea," which means powdered tea! Then came the Cha No Yu , a Japanese tea ceremony which also uses me in its practice.
White tea, green tea, black tea (all together):
Then, we arrived, loose leaf teas! It's simple, just place us in a teapot and brew.
The historian:
Later, Europe discovered tea in the 17th century. It all started in Holland, and then the English adopted it (Earl Grey flavored white tea, for example). Then, tea gradually spread throughout the world… Everyone has their own theory. There's no wrong one; you just have to trust your beliefs!
