The Story of SHEN NUNG
China is believed to be the birthplace of Tea. The most famed story about Tea is the legend of Emperor Shen Nung, who lived in about 2737 BC. Emperor Shen Nung was also called the "Father of the Chinese Traditional Medicine" at that time. The legend says that the Emperor had boiled water in a large pot while working in his garden under a big tree, when a strong breeze suddenly blew , causing a few leaves to fall into the boiling water. When the Emperor drank the water, he realized that the water tasted different and that it refreshed his body.
The leaves that fell into the boiling water were actually Tea leaves, and since then Tea has become a popular drink.

(The picture is taken from the book "China-Homeland of Tea", edited by " China National Native Produce & Animal Byproducts Import & Export Corporation", published in cooperation with "Educational & Cultural Press Ltd Hongkong" 1989)

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The Story of DARUMA
The Japanese have a different story about Tea, which is related to the spreading of Buddhism by a Buddhist monk named Daruma, who lived in 520 BC. According to the legend, the first Tea plant grew from his eyelids. He was very upset when he found himself falling asleep during his meditation one day. In order to avoid falling asleep again, Daruma cut off both his eyelids and threw them into the bushes not far from his meditation site. Soon afterwards, a tree grew at the place where his eyelids had fallen, which is known today to us as the  Tea tree. The Japanese believe that it was the first Tea tree in the world.

The Story of LU YU
For the first time in 780 AD, a scientist named LU YU collected and recorded the findings on the benefits and uses of Tea in a work of  literature on Tea, which was titled Ch'a Cing or The Classic of Tea.

(The picture is taken from the book "China-Homeland of Tea", edited by " China National Native Produce & Animal Byproducts Import & Export Corporation", published in cooperation with "Educational & Cultural Press Ltd Hongkong" 1989)

The Spreading Of Tea In The World

A. Silk Road
During the periods of the Han Tang Soon and Yuan Dynasties, the commodity of Tea was introduced outside China by cultural exchange through a passage across the Central Asia, which is known as the Silk Road.

(The picture is taken from : "Microsoft Encarta 96 World Atlas", Microsoft Corporation.)

B. East India Company
In 1644, the East India Company, a British trading company in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, set up an office in Xiamen. During that period Tea was already known as a drink which was consumed hot. In 1669, the East India Company obtained a license to import Tea from China to England using the queen's ships, monopolizing the trade of Tea up to the year of 1833.


(The picture is taken from the book "The Book of Tea", Flammarion. 1992)

C. Boston Tea Party
In 1773 the East India Company was allowed to trade Tea directly from China to America (which was at that time a colony of the British Empire), effectively by- passing the European exporters and colonial importers, and also was given special duty concessions. The other traders were enraged by this decision. When a ship transporting Tea arrived in the Boston harbour, the residents of Boston climbed into the ship, disguising themselves as native Americans, and threw all of the Tea cases into the sea. This event was popularly known as the BOSTON TEA PARTY, and it resulted in the outbreak of a revolution by the American people against the British colonialists, giving birth to a nation called the United States of America.

(The picture is taken from the book "The Book of Tea", Flammarion. 1992)

D. Introduction of Tea To Indonesia
Tea was brought to Indonesia in 1686 by a Dutchman named Dr. Andreas Cleyer. However, it was introduced as a decorative plant, not as a beverage. In 1728 when the Dutch colonial government began to bring in Tea seeds in large quantities from China to be cultivated in Java. It was not successful until Dr. Van Siebold, a surgeon in the colonial Dutch army, who had conducted natural research in Japan, used Tea seeds from Japan in 1824. The first Tea plantation was pioneered by Jacobson in 1828 and, after that, Tea become a very profitable commodity to the colonial Dutch government. During the administration of Governor Van Den Bosh, Tea became one of the commodities that had to be planted by the Indonesian people under the Compulsory Planting (Cultuur Stelsel)  Policy. After Indonesia gained its independence, the plantations and trade of Tea were taken over by the government of the Republic of Indonesia. Today, Tea estates and Tea trades are also owned and managed by private companies and individuals.