Top 10 Chinese Tea Facts You Might Not Know
Tea is a kind of beverage that has long been popular originally in China and now almost the whole word. China is the birthplace of tea and produces most varieties of tea. Below are 10 facts about tea and China that you might not know:
1. Tea was found out accidentally by the legendary Chinese ruler Shen Nong about 5000 years ago when tea leaves fell into hot water and made a refreshing drink.
2. The planet’s most ancient grown tea tree is over 3,200 years old and is located in Fengqing County, south-west China’s Yunnan province.
3. Before the Qin dynasty (221 BC -206 BC) tea was not used for drink but widely known as food and medicine to make people keep awake.
4. The tea is used as a kind of beverage consumed on social communication occasions began from Tang Dynasty(618–907 CE) or earlier.
5. The Classic of Tea
6. Tea is considered to be introduced to Europe by a Portuguese priest called Jasper de Cruz. He traveled to China in 1590 and brought some tea plants when he went back home.
7. The expression for tea in a lot of countries derives from “cha” – Chinese pronunciation for tea. Russians call it “cha’i”, which sounds like Chinese phrase “chaye” (which means tea leaves) like the pronunciation in northern China, and the English word “tea” seems from pronunciation from Xiamen.
8. Chinese teas can be classified into 5 several groups — green tea, black tea, oolong tea, white tea and post-fermented tea, which differ in level of fermentation and processing.
9. China produces the most tea in the world and supplies around 30 percent of total tea demands to the world. India is the close second producer.
10. The world`s most high-priced tea can be found in the mountain ranges of Ya’An in China’s southwest Sichuan province. Workers use pandas’ waste to fertilize the tea plants. A small cup of the “panda tea” is said to cost $200, wow！.
Not all true theirs actually 6 types of tea classifications. The classic of tea is the earliest monograph their is an earlier one. This person did not do their research properly.
Amazing facts
What a great list of tea facts. For fact 9 I would like to add the fact that most of China’s authentic tea production is sold and consumed in China, while big trading companies produce lesser good quality for Western tea bags.