The history of Asian tea dates all the way back to the beginning of recorded

history itself. Even the act of pouring tea in Asia has been refined into an art
that takes years of discipline to perfect. Different varieties of tea are brewed
at specific temperatures for exact amounts of time to achieve the perfect cup.

The tea in Asia knows no limits. From meeting rooms in Tokyo skyscrapers
to the smallest huts in remote Chinese villages, a steaming pot of tea is being
prepared at any given time! As you travel throughout China and other
countries, you'll often be offered a cup of tea for free.

Although credit is generally given to the border areas of East Asia, South Asia,
and Southeast Asia—specifically the region where India, China,
and Burma meet—no one is really sure who decided to steep the first tea
leaves into water or why. The act possibly predates written history. Genetic
studies of the camellia sinensis plant suggest that the first tea trees originated
near North Burma and Yunnan, China.

Regardless, all can agree on one thing: Tea is the most widely consumed
beverage in the world. Yes, it even beats coffee and alcohol.

China is unsurprisingly the world's top producer of tea; over a million tons
are produced annually. India comes in a close second with revenues from tea
providing a whopping 4 percent of their national income.

Interesting Facts About Tea

 All varieties of tea come from parts of the same plant: Camellia sinensis.
 Turkey is the leading consumer of tea in the world per capita.
 Asians refer to black tea from the West as "red tea."
 Tea plants will continue to grow into trees up to 50 feet tall if not continuously
pruned.
 A tea plant takes at least three years to produce leaves. You can't rush a good
thing: slower growing plants produce tea with more body and flavor. Plants
are often grown at higher elevations to slow growth.
 The smaller a tea leaf, the more expensive the tea. Workers are typically paid
by the kilogram for bags of tea leaves, so they must pick many more leaves for
the same payout.

 Tea tree oil, also called melaleuca, doesn't come from the same shrub that
produces drinking tea. Tea tree oil is toxic if swallowed and comes from a
shrub native to Australia. It's thought that Captain Cook steeped leaves from
the shrub as a substitute for tea, hence the name.
Tea culture is defined by the way tea is made and consumed, by the way the people interact with
tea, and by the aesthetics surrounding tea drinking. It includes aspects of tea production, tea
brewing, tea arts and ceremony, society, history, health, ethics, education, and communication and
media issues.

Due to the importance of tea in Chinese society and culture, tea houses can be found in most
Chinese neighbourhoods and business districts. Chinese-style tea houses offer dozens of varieties
of hot and cold tea concoctions. They also serve a variety of tea-friendly or tea-related snacks.
Beginning in the late afternoon, the typical Chinese tea house quickly becomes packed with students
and business people, and later at night plays host to insomniacs and night owls simply looking for a
place to relax.
There are formal tea houses. They provide a range of Chinese and Japanese tea leaves, as well as
tea making accoutrements and a better class of snack food. Finally there are tea vendors, who
specialize in the sale of tea leaves, pots, and other related paraphernalia. Tea is an important item in
Chinese culture and is mentioned in the Seven necessities of (Chinese) daily life.
Historically there were two phases of tea drinking in China based on the form of tea that was
produced and consumed, namely: tea bricks versus loose leaf tea.
Tea served before the Ming Dynasty was typically made from tea bricks. Upon harvesting, the tea
leaves were either partially dried or were thoroughly dried and ground before being pressed into
bricks. The pressing of Pu-erh is likely a vestige of this process. Tea bricks were also sometimes
used as currency.[3] Serving the tea from tea bricks required multiple steps:

Toasting

Grinding

Whisking:

Loose-leaf tea phase: After 1391, the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, decreed
that tributes of tea to the court were to be changed from brick to loose-leaf form. The imperial decree
quickly transformed the tea drinking habits of the people, changing from whisked teas to steeped
teas. The arrival of the new method for preparing tea also required the creation or use of new
vessels.

 The tea pot was needed such that the tea leaves can be steeped separately from the drinking
vessel for an infusion of proper concentration. The tea needs to be kept warm and the tea
leaves must be separated from the resulting infusion when required.
 Tea caddies and containers also became necessary to keep the tea and conserve its flavour.
This was because tea leaves do not preserve as well as tea bricks. Furthermore, the natural
aroma of tea became the focus of the tea drinking due to the new preparation method.
 A change in Chinese tea drinking vessels was evident at this point. Smaller bowls with plain or
simple designs on the interior surfaces were favoured over the larger patterned bowls used for
enjoying the patterns created by powdered teas. Tea drinking in small bowls and cups was likely
adopted since it gathers and directs the fragrant steam from the tea to the nose and allows for
better appreciation of the tea's flavour.
 The loose-leaf tea and the purple clay teaware is still the preferred method of preparing tea
in Chinese daily life.