How did tea start in India? history of tea

The practice of drinking tea first thing in the morning is hundreds of years old not in India but in many countries. There are many people, whose day starts with tea and may also include your name in it. People drink tea to get rid of sleep or to remove fatigue and many people have a habit of it. You may also drink tea more than once in a day, but do you know where it started. For the first time when someone would have drank tea, how would he have drank this tea?

Most people think that tea was invented in India but it is not so. It started from China. The history of drinking tea is very old and it is also mentioned in 750 BC. Today India is the largest producer of tea and tea is being used in India for a long time. But, you will be surprised to know that many years ago the tea that you use to drive away sleep was not for it, but it was used as a medicine.
It is said that many years ago Buddhist monks used tea as a medicine. There is a story that a Buddhist monk used to chew certain leaves to stay awake during his penance and those leaves were tea. This is how tea became popular in India.

However, the fact is that tea came to be known in China 5000 years ago. According to a legend, around 2700 BC, the Chinese ruler Shen Nung was drinking hot water sitting in the garden. Then a leaf of a tree fell in the water, due to which its color changed and the smell also rose. When the king tasted it, he liked its taste very much and thus tea was invented. At the same time, according to another story, in the 6th century, Bodhidharma, an Indian Buddhist monk, used to meditate without sleeping in the Hunan province of China. They used to chew on the leaves of a particular plant to stay awake and this plant was later recognized as the tea plant.

Let us know how it started and how it reached India…
The people of India have a long relationship with tea. India is the largest producer of tea in the world. Out of which about 70 percent is consumed here. The British brought tea to India for the first time in 1834. However, in the wild, it was already bred in Assam. In 1815, the attention of British travelers went to the tea bushes growing in Assam. The local tribal people of Assam used to make its drink and drink it beforehand.

The British introduced tea production to India in 1834 and Sri Lanka in 1867. Earlier the seeds for cultivation came from China but later the seeds of Assam tea started being used. Tea was originally produced in India to meet the demand for tea in the British markets. Tea consumption in India was negligible until the late nineteenth century. But today you will definitely find tea at every intersection, nook and corner of India.

History tells that in the 15th century the Portuguese and then the Dutch, French and British merchants arrived in China and brought tea to their countries. Its taste was so unique that at that time only the royal family could drink tea, because its price was very high. Since tea did not grow anywhere other than China, Chinese traders used to give tea to European merchants in exchange for silver and gold. British businessmen went a little further. At that time opium was banned in China, so they started giving opium to the Chinese in exchange for tea. In the year 1838, when the death penalty was prescribed for opium smugglers in China, then British traders started having problems in getting tea, this opium crisis became the reason for the production of tea in India.

Tea is basically bitter, hot-tasting and energizing. It quenches kapha-pitta. Consumption of black tea reduces the risk of diabetes. Since tea contains caffeine, excessive consumption of it can cause insomnia. Consumption of too much tea causes constipation and can cause piles.

The story of tea is also similar to that of the Bhaktikal devotee-poet Tulsidas, ‘Hari Anant, Hari Katha Ananta’. Its history is really interesting. In India, there is a passion for tea and the urge to drink tea arises from its name. Tea is also an example of social harmony, because what is poor, what is rich, what is king, what is the subjects and what is leader and what actor, all are seeking tea. Even in relations, tea has made inroads. If you go to someone’s house and do not get tea, then it is considered disrespectful. People will be found saying that ‘I went to his house and he did not even ask for tea’. That is, he was insulted.

types of tea…
White tea is the purest and least processed of all teas. Green tea is the most famous and well-liked in Asia. Oolong tea is Chinese tea served in Chinese restaurants. Black tea is also drunk by simply adding the leaves to hot water or with milk and sugar. Now the question is why tea is so famous and why the whole country including India is crazy about it. Why did it happen that till the second half of the 19th century, the consumption of tea in India was negligible. But today, if nothing is found at every crossroads, nook, tapri of India, hot tea will definitely be available. Now tea has become a necessity for everyday enjoyment and refreshment, not only because of its medicinal properties.