Tea: It's Mystery and History

By Samuel Phillips Day, Jennifer C Petersen, Jennifer C. Petersen

The history of tea and origin on tea begins with the fairly certain story of discovery by Shen Nong, Chinese emperor and herbalist, in approximately 2737 B.C. It is told that the emperor liked his drinking water boiled before he drank it so it would be clean, so that is what his servants did. One day, on a trip to a distant region, he and his army stopped to rest. A servant began boiling water for him to drink, and a dead leaf from the wild tea bush fell into the water. It turned a brownish color, but it was unnoticed and presented to the emperor anyway. The emperor drank it and found it very refreshing, and tea came into being.Another story runs, that in the year 510, an Indian Prince - one Dharma, 3rd son of King Kosjusva - famed throughout the East for his religious zeal, landed in China on a missionary enterprise. He devoted all his time and thought to the diffusion of a knowledge of God. In order to set an example of piety to others, he imposed on himself various privations and mortifications, forswore sleep, and, living mostly in the open air, devoted himself to prayer, preaching, and contemplation. However, after several years in this excessively austere manner, he involuntarily fell asleep. Upon awaking, so distressed was he at having violated his oath that, to prevent a repetition of such backsliding and never again permit "tired eyelids" to "rest on tired eyes," he cut off those offending portions of his body and flung them on the ground. Returning next day to the same spot, he discovered that his eyelids had undergone a strange metamorphosis, having been changed into a shrub the like of which had never before been seen upon the earth. Having eaten some of the leaves, he found his spirit singularly exhilarated thereby; while his former vigor was restored. Hence, he recommended the newly discovered boon to his disciples and followers, so that after a time the use of tea rapidly spread.Although legends make a colorful tea history, factors affecting its global spread and the marketing of tea influences its mystery.This short book tells of the history of tea and its growth in building a tea empire.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0998410225
• ISBN13: 9780998410227
• Release Date: March 2019
• Publisher: Tea Trade Mart
• Length: 88 Pages
• Weight: 0.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"