Japan has been the home to certain varieties of teas like Sencha, Matcha etc. Tea drinking is deeply rooted in the Japanese heritage. When the Japanese Buddhist scholars visited China during the Tang Dynasty, they took with them certain tea seeds back to Japan and flavours that were initially foreign to the land is now a part of it.
India is the largest grower and exporter of tea in the world today, but tea became a part of everyday lives of the people only in the 19th century, during the British rule. It all started when the British used the Indian lands and took advantage of the country’s climate to cultivate tea to supply the growing demand for tea in Britain.
Britain is known for their love for tea. Tea wasn’t a thing in Britain until Prince Charles II married Catherine, a Portuguese Princess who loved tea. Some even say that the consumption of tea in Britain grew exponentially only in the 19th century, during the British rule in India.
The rise of tea bags
A merchant in New York who goes by the name Thomas Sullivan used to send tea samples to his customers in silk bags. The customers not knowing what to do put the tea with the silk bag into the pot which surprisingly worked well and thus tea bags were born.In ancient days, tea was not prepared the way we do now. It was mostly used for medicinal purposes and was eaten by itself or mixed with other spices and added to a soup.