Interesting facts about tea and coffee that you did not know. The most interesting facts about tea
We offer a short excursion into the world of this wonderful drink.
When buying Chinese tea, we do not assume that in ancient times this drink was consumed only at the imperial palace and in wealthy families.
What else do we know about tea? Check out a selection of interesting facts about tea.
1. Camellia sinensis tea plant
Camellia sinensis plants are the source material for both green and black tea. 
2. Tea - for pleasure and health
At first, tea was expensive, and the drink was used only for medicinal purposes. Ginger, onion, mint, orange were added to it. Knowing about the many antioxidants contained in the famous drink, we use tea to improve health, to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer. 
3. The most popular tea
According to the first mentions, tea appeared in the 4th century AD. And, of course, everyone knows that this happened in East Asia. If we talk about modern China, now the tea boom is taking place in the city of Anxi, where the most popular tea of the same name is grown today. 
4. Same plant, different types of tea
Until the 19th century, China stubbornly kept the secret that different varieties of tea were made from the same plant. In Europe, for many centuries, it was believed that each tea had its own special way. According to statistics, 75% of a tea leaf turns into black tea, and 25% into green. 
5. Eyelashes Buddha
In Japanese, the terms "tea" and "eyelash" use the same word. According to legend, the Buddha cut off his eyelashes so that they would not interfere with his nightly meditations, and buried them in the ground. In the morning, a tea bush grew there. 
6. American tea
In 1904, Richard Blechinden invented iced tea. In the US, 80% of tea is served chilled as an alternative to homemade lemonade. Te Guan Yin tea is especially popular for its aroma and taste. 
7. How Tea Bags Came to Be
Tea bags were also invented by the Americans. According to legend, Thomas Sullivan, a supplier from New York, noticed that tea in metal cans was quite expensive for consumers. 
At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to sell tea already in paper bags. One day, his client accidentally dropped a bag into the water, and everyone found that the glass turned out to be exactly the same tea.
8. How tea is made
The technology of making tea has not changed for centuries. The upper leaves of the Camellia sinensis tea bushes are usually picked by hand. Then they are dried during the day, and to improve the flavor they are rolled between metal rollers. Then leave to oxidize in the open air. Only then the leaves are subjected to heating and final drying. As mentioned earlier, green and black tea are obtained from the same plant, only the methods of processing raw materials differ. To obtain green tea, the leaves are carefully dried, then packaged and sent for sale. To obtain a special taste and color of black tea, the leaves are dried and twisted, subjected to fermentation. 
9. The largest tea plantations
The largest tea plantations are owned by China, India, Sri Lanka (or Ceylon), Japan and Taiwan.Shared
The appearance of tea is covered with legends. The most often referred to is that shepherds in southern China were the first to use the infusion of leaves, drawing attention to animals that nibble leaves from bushes and become more cheerful. The birthplace of the tea bush is considered to be India, where wild bushes of the Theaceae family were found in the Assami area. However, the legends associated with the history of tea take us to China, where already in 2700 BC. one Chinese manuscript mentions tea. According to one of the legends in 1737 BC. the Chinese emperor was boiling water in his garden, suddenly several leaves flew from the bush into the boiling water. He tasted the water and was delighted with the pleasant taste and delicate smell. This is how tea was discovered.
According to another legend, a certain Buddhist monk, who performed the rite, could not stand it and fell asleep, and waking up in despair cut off his eyelids and threw them on the ground.
At this place, the first tea bush grew, from the leaves of which the Chinese prepared a drink that gives extraordinary vigor. By the way, the meaning of the words "vigor" and "tea" in Chinese is almost the same, since they are denoted by the same hieroglyph. Now it doesn't matter which of these stories is true. After all, today tea has become one of the most popular drinks in the world.
However, the first mention of the use of tea dates back to the 4th century AD. At the same time, scientists believe that tea began to be drunk many centuries ago in East Asia. There it was used for medicinal purposes, in the form of dried leaves, with the addition of onion, mint, orange, ginger. Tea was brewed with boiling water during the Ming Dynasty (14th-17th century). Thus, the use of tea in the modern sense began less than 700 years ago.
There are many interesting legends and facts associated with tea. For example, in ancient times, seekers of the elixir of youth and immortality considered it a necessary component. In many Asian countries and some African countries, the value of tea was so great that it even served as a bargaining chip. Chinese emperor Kien Long composed a poem about tea and ordered to write it on all porcelain bowls.
The drink known to everyone was not always called the way we used to call it now. In the writings of ancient Chinese philosophers, it is mentioned under a variety of names: “tse”, “tou”, “chun”, “ming”, and also “cha”, which translates as “young” leaf.
At the beginning of the 8th century, the so-called powdered tea became very popular in China. It was very expensive and rich people could afford to drink it. Only a little later, a variety of this tea became available to everyone in China.
Around 780, a tax on tea was first introduced and became a major source of profit in China.
In Europe, the first information about tea penetrated in 1584. Its distribution was facilitated by ambassadors who brought it from China.
Initially, in the 16th century, tea appeared in Portugal, then in Holland. It entered England during the time of the East India Company in 1664. In 1679, an agreement was concluded for the supply of tea from China to Moscow.
Not without incidents.
“In Europe, the fashion for tea spread quite quickly. But they literally reveled in their new hobby, conceited aristocrats must not always know in what form it should be taken, so at one of the royal receptions a salad was prepared from tea leaves. The treat was eaten with pleasure, since no one wanted to seem ignorant.
And here are some more interesting facts:
The use of tea benefited the English aristocrats not only in terms of its great taste and medicinal properties. The fact is that the passion for the new drink so captured the satiated lords that they preferred it to alcohol, the use of which has noticeably decreased.
- The appearance of the word "tip" is closely connected with tea. There is such a popular version: Dutch merchants brought tea to England, and its pound was very expensive, which made tea a drink of high society. So, in the 1730s, it was popular among high society to spend afternoons in special “tea gardens”. These were small flower gardens with music and dancing. They opened in May and received visitors until the beginning of autumn. On the tables were small wooden boxes with the inscription "T.I.P.S." (To Insure Prompt Service). The visitor, wanting to get hot tea as soon as possible, threw a coin into the box. This is how the Western culture of tipping was born. To this day, the word "tips" in English means "tip", "money for tea".
Meanwhile, the English history of tea is closely connected with the American one. Consider the famous Boston Tea Party.
The Tea Party of Boston or the Boston Tea Society is not just a public organization. Behind such an unusual name lies the American bloody war for independence, which began in 1773. At that time, North America was still considered a British colony. The Americans, striving for independence, were dissatisfied with the fact that, according to one of the English laws, the corporations of American merchants banned the export of tea. Disguised in Indian garb, a troop of American patriots boarded a ship anchored in Boston Harbor that brought tea. Protesting against British policy, they threw bales of tea into the sea. The British were indignant and decided to bring the "Indians" to justice as having unleashed the war. However, as a result of the war for independence, England lost its colonies and the United States of America appeared on the world map.
In addition, the Americans own several inventions in the field of production and use of tea. So, for example, at the beginning of the 20th century, Richard Blechinden came up with a recipe for traditional iced tea and put it on sale, which is still sold today and is very popular; who does not like to sip on a bottle of Nestea in the hot heat, and a merchant from New York, Thomas Sullivan, around the same time, invented tea in bags, which is also incredibly popular all over the world today.
These bags have an interesting history. Thomas Sullivan, it was as if he was not going to invent tea in bags at all, the merchant only packed the leaves in silk bags for convenience, and unlucky customers, not understanding their purpose, dipped tea into boiling water right in the bags, they liked it so quickly, and most importantly convenient .
In Russia, tea has been drunk since the 17th century, as mentioned above.
But it turns out that tea culture in Russia began to exist even earlier, but not everyone knows about it. The Cossacks were the first in Russia to try tea in ancient times, conquering the Siberian Khanate. Most likely, it was Buryat brick tea, which came to Siberia from the same China.
In 1567, the Cossack atamans Petrov and Yalyshev visited China, where they succeeded, and described the local drink. Thus, the first written mention of tea in Russia dates back to the middle of the 16th century.
And at the beginning of the 17th century, tea began to be consumed at the court of Russian tsars. In 1618, the Chinese ambassadors (and Russia, as you know, always maintained friendly relations with this country) brought several boxes of selected tea as a gift to Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. And twenty years later, the Russian ambassador Vasily Starkov presented the king with a gift from the Mongol Khan - 64 kg of tea. The most interesting thing is that the ambassador in every possible way refused this, as it obviously seemed to him worthless cargo, but the monarch and his entourage insisted on it and the ambassador took the cargo.
In 1787, the first tea trading company in Russia was opened, it was called "V. Perlov with his sons." They were doing very well, and by the beginning of the 20th century, she already owned 88 tea shops throughout the country. At about the same time, our compatriots guessed that it was possible not to export tea from China, but to grow it in their homeland. So far, this was only a theory in its purest form: and in 1817, the first tea bush was planted in the Nikitsky Garden in the Crimea.
Today, tea lovers are presented with such a wide selection of this drink, which centuries-old history has not yet known.
In most countries of the world, morning is greeted with a cup of life-giving tea, people come to visit for tea, and any feast will certainly end with tea drinking. The history of tea dates back thousands of years, now there are hundreds of different varieties and brands of tea in the world, peoples have different traditions of tea drinking. But, perhaps, ten pages of our site will not be enough to tell everything about tea. Therefore, today we will focus on only a few of the most interesting tea facts and provide a little informative information about the popular drink.
The acquaintance of mankind with tea took place in the third millennium BC. A servant of the Chinese emperor dropped several wild camellia petals into boiling water. The boiling water immediately darkened pleasantly and began to exude such an aroma that the courtiers could not resist and drank the boiling water. The drink was immediately given the name - "cha", which in Chinese means "young leaf".
In China, there are hundreds of other names for the plant from which this drink is made. The word "cha" itself is pronounced differently in different provinces. And besides, a whole rainbow of teas can be prepared from the same leaf in different ways: black, green, red, yellow, white.
There are also orange and brown teas - they are produced in Thailand. Blue tea (a type of green tea) is made in Cambodia and Laos. And the word “baikhovy” indicates that among the declared leaves there are a lot of “bai-hoa” - slightly blossoming tea buds, which give it taste and smell. The more of them, the better.
The Chinese were the first to pay attention to the ability of tea to have a tonic effect on the human body and were the first to cultivate the plant. In the 8th century, the famous "Treatise on Tea" was created: the Chinese considered the plant a cure for 72 poisons and used it to treat the sick.
Later, tea tree leaves were used in religious ceremonies. The sages created a whole philosophy - the Tao of tea. Taoists believed that the decoction helps to penetrate deeper into the inner world of a person, to realize the place of humanity in the interaction of Earth and Sky, space and time.
tea facts
Tea appeared in Russia in 1638, when gifts were brought to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich from the Mongolian Altyn Khan, among the famous Mongolian atlases and furs lay bundles with dry leaves. The ambassadors refused to take "dried grass", but the Mongol ruler insisted on his own, and so for the first time tea appeared in Muscovy. Tart and bitter, the "potion", however, was to the taste of Mikhail Fedorovich.
In addition, "Chinese herb" has been observed to "precipitate vapours, refresh and purify the blood." When the four pounds of tea sent by Altyn Khan ran out, the taste of tea in Moscow began to be forgotten. Only almost 30 years later, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the Russian ambassador to China, Ivan Perfilyev, would again bring tea to Russia, and in 1769 Russia concluded the first tea supply agreement with China.
The cultivation of "Russian" tea began in 1814, when Count Vorontsov tried to plant a plantation near Yalta. But the Crimean climate, harsh in terms of "tea" concepts, did not allow tea bushes grown in greenhouses to take root in the open ground. The baton of tea growing in the very first years of the 20th century was picked up by Judas Antonovich Koshman, who managed to get the northernmost tea in the world. Not far from the village of Dagomys, the first tea harvest in Russia was obtained, which began to go on sale in 1906.
The English tradition of drinking tea with milk or cream originated in the 17th century, when the British poured tea into fine Chinese porcelain cups. To prevent the precious dishes from breaking, warm milk was poured into it before being filled with hot tea. So the order was established - first milk, then tea.
It should be borne in mind that some varieties of tea with milk can be spoiled. This is especially true for white and green teas, oolongs, most Chinese black teas, high-grade Darjeeling and flavored teas.
The history of English tea drinking dates back to the middle of the 17th century, when the Portuguese princess Catharina of Braganza became the wife of King Charles II. A big lover of tea, she taught the English nobility to this drink. The foggy and rainy climate of England made the inhabitants of this country immediately and forever fall in love with a warming, invigorating drink. In England, they drank tea mainly in public places - in the so-called "tea gardens".
In the 19th century, "tea gardens" were replaced by tea shops. It was at this time that the tastes of the British were reflected in the development of strict tea etiquette. In the choice of dishes, preference was given to silver tea sets. The house might not have many necessary things, but a beautiful tea set had to be a must: it symbolized the wealth and well-being of the family.
The most favorite English tea party is the famous Five O’clock. The whole family and close friends gather for tea. A teapot with tea leaves, a teapot with boiling water, a milk jug, a sugar bowl, sliced cake and other sweets are placed on a special table.
Tea owes its taste, aroma and invigorating properties to three components - caffeine (theine), tannin and essential oils. There is more caffeine in a tea leaf than in a coffee bean. Thanks to him, the drink invigorates and increases working capacity. And in combination with vitamin PP, theine dilates the vessels of the brain. So strong tea is no worse than coffee, relieves drowsiness and fatigue, and sometimes it can replace a headache pill.
According to legend, British Prime Minister Earl Charles Grey, while in China, found out from a high-ranking Chinese official the secret of using the oil of a tropical citrus fruit - bergamot - to flavor tea. Since then, the famous brand of English tea with bergamot has been named Earl Gray (“Earl Grey”).
Packaging protects tea from the sun, moisture, air. But in 1904, New York merchant Thomas Sullivan first placed a serving of tea leaves in a silk bag. At first, this confused his customers, but as it turned out, tea bags are perfectly brewed!
Tea is brewed up to 10 times, and oolong tea (one of the most expensive alpine teas) - up to 30 times. First, tea leaves placed in a special “gaiwan” bowl are scalded with a small amount of boiling water and immediately drained. Then they inhale the aroma of the tea leaf, fill the "gaiwan" with boiling water to half the volume, close the lid and after one or two minutes add boiling water to the top.
Drink the infusion hot, slowly, in very small sips. Having not finished drinking to the end, boiled water is poured again, getting the second tea leaves, and after it in the same way the third and fourth, gradually adding from 10 to 20 seconds for brewing. Each of these brews will have its own valuable color, aroma and taste.
There is still a lot of interesting things hidden in the tea theme, but, as we have already said, it is unlikely that anyone will be able to tell everything about tea in one “sit”. So we'll leave some information for next time.
Since ancient times, tea has been the most favorite drink in Rus', and our ancestors instilled in us a love for this drink from generation to generation, maybe that's why we love it so much today. Of course, there are those who do not have a love for tea and prefer coffee, but for the most part people drink infusion from tea leaves. But what do we know about this wonderful drink? Except that you need to throw a tea bag into a cup and pour boiling water over it, or do the same with loose tea. In fact, it is not as simple as it seems, and we invite you to verify this.
There are only 6 types of tea
All varieties of tea are obtained by processing the leaves of the same tea plant - Chinese camellia. The inscription on the package "green tea" or "black tea" is just the processing technology with which it was obtained.
Everything else - herbs (like mint), fruits (like raspberries), and so on - become not tea, but infusion.
Do not boil tea
Never pour boiling water over tea, otherwise you can burn the tea leaves. But pouring boiling water over herbs or fruits is just a great idea.
The temperature of the brewing water can be determined without a thermometer. As soon as steam appears and the kettle starts to vibrate a little - this is about 65-75 ° C. And when the water starts to bubble - it's 85-90 °C.
Use only fresh water to brew tea
When water is boiled again, mineral substances settle on the walls of the kettle and scale forms. And oxygen is also evaporated from the water, which is necessary for the proper brewing of tea.
Brew tea based on the proportion of 1 teaspoon per 1 cup
Never add an extra teaspoon. By adding it, you will not make it stronger, it will simply lose its unique flavor.
Do not heat the kettle
The only case when it is worth heating the kettle with boiling water is when it is made of thick porcelain or very thick ceramic.
Remove the lid from the teapot while the tea is brewing.
This saturates the leaves with oxygen and helps the aroma to develop.
The order of the ingredients matters
If you drink tea brewed in a teapot, pour the milk into the cup first, and only then the tea. Thus, the milk will be heated to the same temperature as the tea, and the drink will be more aromatic. If you add milk last, then cool the tea itself.
If you are brewing a tea bag, then milk should be added at the end.
Place the bag in hot water for 3 minutes to steep, remove it, and then add the milk. If you pour in the milk right away, the fat can coat the leaves and prevent them from brewing.
Remove the leaves from the teapot after it has been brewed.
Don't throw away the leaves, you can re-brew them later.
Never squeeze the bag against the side of the cup
Otherwise, you will squeeze out the tannins and the tea will become bitter. Just take it out. If you like strong tea with a slightly bitter taste, try Assam second-hand or Kenyan tea.
Why tea brewed in a teapot tastes better
Loose leaf tea has a wider leaf surface, resulting in a deeper and richer flavor. Especially if you brew it in a large teapot, where the aroma is at its best.
Tea bags are designed to brew tea quickly. Yes, the leaves in it are much smaller and may not be of very good quality. The compromise is pyramids that give you the benefits of loose leaf tea and the convenience of sachets.
Does green tea contain caffeine?
Because all varieties are made from the same plant, all teas have about the same amount of caffeine, including green teas. And no one can guarantee that one tea contains more antioxidants than another. Because it depends on the quality of tea, weather and other conditions.
We all know that tea is not only delicious, but also a very healthy drink. And we have collected for you a lot of other interesting facts about him, which you will be interested to read. Ready? Then, let's get started.
1. According to experts, there are almost 1,500 different types of tea in the world. At the same time, all this variety is obtained from six main varieties: black, green, white, yellow, red and fermented.
2. Almost all tea in the world is grown in 5 countries: China, India, Sri Lanka, Japan and Taiwan.
3. The most popular variety is black tea, which occupies a share of almost 75% in relation to the entire world market. And green tea is recognized as the most useful.
4. It is believed that tea appeared in Europe thanks to the Portuguese priest Jasper de Cruz, who brought it after a trip to China in 1590.
5. Until the 19th century, almost all of the world's tea was produced in China, with the UK as its only export partner. Even now, the Chinese own almost a third of the entire world market.
6. During the Victorian era, special cups were successfully sold in England, designed to protect gentlemen's mustaches from accidental soaking.
7. In Asia, tea leaves were used to read the future.
8. Modern looking tea bags first appeared on the market in 1929 in Germany. Nowadays, it is tea bags that are used to prepare about 96% of all cups of this aromatic drink. And for the first time, bags were invented purely by accident - the American Thomas Sullivan, in 1904.
9. After tourism, tea cultivation is the second most important source of income for the Indian economy. And although initially China is the birthplace of tea, it is the Indians who actively popularize it around the world.
10. A variety of tea called "Oolong" ("dark dragon") is the most expensive in the world. Its cost reaches $3,000 per kilogram.
11. Tea is not only rich in vitamins (B1, B2 and B6), but also a natural antioxidant, helping to restore the cells of the human body.
12. Studies conducted in the Netherlands have shown that for men who drink tea regularly, the risk of dying from coronary heart disease is reduced by 50%.
13. The most valued so-called "white tea". They make it only in China and it got its name because of the special way of collecting leaves, which are harvested when they are still very young and have not blossomed.
14. The taste of even the same type of tea will differ, depending on the water, temperature and time that was spent brewing.
15. In the mid-1700s, tea finally established itself as the favorite drink of the British, displacing gin from the honorable first place.
16. The most popular and best-selling tea brand in the world is Lipton. Their factory in Dubai produces over 5 billion tea bags every year!
17. Conducting a tea ceremony is a very important part of Japanese culture, and it takes many years to achieve true mastery in its conduct.
18. After water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world.
19. On average, about 3 billion cups of tea are consumed daily in the world.
20. Tea is a natural antidepressant. Its leaves contain the amino acid L-theanine, which has a calming and relaxing effect.
21. Once upon a time, Europeans seriously believed that green and black tea were made from different plants. In fact, green tea is not subjected to fragmentation, while black tea undergoes additional processing, which gives it the color and aroma familiar to us.
22. Tea leaves can be brewed several times! Good news, isn't it? Moreover, in the process of repeated brewing, hidden notes of taste and aroma may be revealed.
23. From one kilogram of tea leaves, you can brew about 400 cups of this drink.