All About Tea:

It may sound silly, but what is it that makes tea so popular? It is by far the most popular drink in the world today, drank by people in every country on earth. But why?
Simplicity

There is something very homely about tea There is nothing difficult about tea, it is easily accessible and can be made quickly and without mess. This ease of use is one of the big reasons which makes it even more popular. Tea is the most popular drink in the world. Tea is a very ordinary drink which many people take for granted. Because it is ordinary it is easy for us to approach it with confidence, no special skills or knowledge are necessary for you to enjoy a "golden moment". Becoming a connoisseur of tea is one of the easiest and most enjoyable accomplishments one can acquire.

We all appreciate the value of the "Tea Break" whether at work or during leisure time, as a signal to relax, after which the spirits are revived and enlivened to face the rest of the day. Tea is a very ordinary drink, but this statement masks its extraordinary appeal. What other drink is as soothing in times of stress, stimulating in times of tiredness, warming when we are cold or cooling when we are hot? It is the most popular and economic beverage in the world.

Where did Tea get it's name?

As logic would dictate, the word for tea came from the same place that invented the drink, China. In most of Mainland China the word for tea is 'cha', but in the Fujian province it is 'tay'. History tells us that tea has been in use by the Chinese for many thousands of years. One early reference to tea drinking dates back to 2737B.C. - quite a while ago in anyone's book! The story goes that a Chinese Emperor called Shen Nung was sitting under a tree as he was boiling some water to drink. Just as he was sitting there, a leaf from the Camellia sinensis plant fell gently into the boiling water. The Emperor, the wise man that he was, let it stay in his cup of hot water, which let the flavour from the single tea leaf diffuse. This became the very first recorded cup of tea, born through chance and fluke.

Tea was first introduced to the west by the Dutch trading companies who regularly sailed the route between China and Europe. Late in the eighteenth century the pronunciation of 'tay' was changed to that of 'tee', probably to make it fit into the rather proper accent of the English middle classes at that time.

Traditionally tea has been associated with glamour and wealth. This image was strengthened by the famous trading ships such as the Cutty Sark, known as tea clippers. These were elegant boats with sleek lines which were built for speed and agility - they were the speedboats of that era.