An infusion of the processed leaves of Camellia sinensis, native to the borderlands of southwestern China, northern Myanmar and northeastern India, and the base of green, black, oolong and other tea styles depending on how the leaf is oxidized after picking. Chinese legend credits the legendary Emperor Shennong with discovering it by accident around 2737 BCE when leaves blew into his boiling water; this is a founding legend rather than an attested date, and the earliest solid archaeological evidence for tea drinking comes from tombs of the Han dynasty.
Facts
Origin Period, From (Year) Origin RegionThe borderlands of southwestern China (Yunnan), northern Myanmar and northeastern India, the native range of Camellia sinensis 2 Connections
Associated With
Masala chai is prepared from the same Camellia sinensis plant Tea covers generically, with a distinct spiced milk-tea preparation and history of its own.
Source Is Chai Tea Redundant? (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Matcha, Drinks Matcha is prepared from the same Camellia sinensis plant Tea covers generically, whisked as a powder rather than steeped as a leaf.
Source Matcha (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Expresses Tradition
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Source Yum Cha (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Sources
1. The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014Expresses Tradition: Tea Ceremony, s.v. Tea Ceremony
2. Tea (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaIntroductionQuote, Introduction
tea, beverage produced by steeping in freshly boiled water the young leaves and leaf buds of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Two principal varieties are used, the small-leaved China plant (C. sinensis variety sinensis) and the large-leaved Assam plant (C. sinensis variety assamica).
Is Chai Tea Redundant? (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Matcha (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Yum Cha (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
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