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Tea’s Noble Birth—True
Serendipity
Tea’s birth story is infused
with a blend of myth and
fact and colored by ancient
concepts of spirituality,
and philosophy. According to
ancient legend in China, the
story of tea began in 2737
B.C. when the Chinese
Emperor Shen Nong, a skilled
ruler and scientist,
accidentally discovered the
tea. While boiling water in
the garden, a leaf from an
overhanging wild tea tree
drifted into his pot. The
Emperor enjoyed drinking the
infused water with its
unusual and delicious
flavor. He felt invigorated
and refreshed. As a
scientist, this
serendipitous event
compelled him to further
research the plant whereby
he found tea to have
medicinal properties. And
so, the first cup of tea,
generated by the mighty
leaf, was created by
accident.
Indian history attributes
the discovery of tea to
Prince Bodhi-Dharma, an
Indian saint who founded the
Japanese Zen school of
Buddhism. In 520 A.D., he
left Indian to preach
Buddhism in China. To prove
some Zen principles, he
vowed to meditate for nine
years. Towards the end of
his meditation efforts he
fell asleep. Upon awaking he
was so distraught that he
cut off his eyelids. A tea
plant sprung up from where
his bloody eyelids hit the
ground to sanctify his
sacrifice.
Traditional Tea Culture
in China and Japan
Whatever the legend, tracing
tea’s original roots proves
difficult. It is probable
that the tea plant
originated in the region of
southwest China, Tibet and
Northern India. Chinese
traders may have traveled
throughout these regions
often and encountered people
chewing tea leaves. From
these journeys, the Chinese
learned tea’s use.
 Early
on, people primarily used
tea for medicinal purposes.
Not until the Tang dynasty
(618-907 AD), often referred
to as the classic age of
tea, did consumption become
widespread and characterized
as China’s national drink.
An imposition of a
government imposed tea tax
further evidences the
beverage’s growing
popularity. During that
time, compressed bricks of
tea leaves were first
softened by fire and then
grated into boiling water.
A Buddhist monk, Lu Yu
(733-804) composed the Ch’a
Ching or Classic of Tea
treatise. He described types
of tea, uses and preparation
and the benefits of drinking
it. More importantly, he
imbued the writings with a
spiritual aesthetic that
reflected Buddhist, Taoist
and Confucian religious
thought of the time. The tea
ceremony served as a
metaphor for expressing the
harmony and simplicity that
not only ordered but also
streamed throughout the
entire universe.
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