Tea in China History

When tea was still unknown to the majority of the people, tea leaves were harvested from wild tea plants.

But the big problem was once the tea leaves were stripped from the plants, that tea plants can't produce any more leaves for another 2-3 years. The tea resources were depleting. Fast.

By the fifth century, people started to cultivate tea plants in another way. People began to cultivate the tea plants on their own land to increase the tea leaves production. The demand for tea in China started to soar around this time.

By 800 A.D, Chinese government first put tea into the list of taxable goods. Regardless of the tax, the demand for tea continues to increase rapidly, so the production had to follow.

People started to venture into the tea business. Social elites found and bought large land just for the cultivation of tea.

But people in the tea business had a problem that was desperate for a solution. The problem was the mass of the Chinese still didn't know about this wonderful drink. This was a potentially profitable untapped market.

Chinese tea history - Who was Lu Yu and why is he important?

Lu Yu was an important man in the tea history. He provided Chinese business men the solution they needed. He wrote the first complete book about tea called Ch'a Ching. It means The book of tea.

This book includes 3 volumes and 10 sections. It contains tons of information on tea growing, plucking, varieties, preparation, ceremonies, and health benefits.

The book was easy to understand and was very popular among the common people.

Chinese tea history - What happened to tea in the Sung dynasty that changed it forever?

By the Sung dynasty in 960 A.D., tea drinking officially becomes an art. Emperor Hui Tsung contributed a major part in pushing tea drinking in this direction.

Historians noted that he devoted lots of his time searching and finding new tea kinds and new ways of drinking tea. His personal favorite was White tea.

In this period in tea history in China, tea was an art itself. The rare varieties of tea were sought and bid. Many poems written about tea were published.

Tea cups and pots with exceptionally rare and beautiful designs were collected by rich tea enthusiasts.

Every dynasty in China played an important part in the tea history. The Tang dynasty created the classic designs for tea pot. While the Sung dynasty added artistic value into tea drinking.

Chinese tea history - why tea customs came to a halt for a period of time?

But after thousands year of tea development, the art of enjoying tea came to a halt when Mongolians overthrew the Sung dynasty and ruled China for a hundred years. The art of tea wasn't revived until the Ming dynasty took over China in 1370 A.D.