The Story of Tea

Tea began as a medicinal drink in ancient China and only gradually became an everyday pleasure. Legend credits its discovery to leaves drifting into a pot of boiling water, but its real spread owed more to trade and ritual. Buddhist monks valued tea for keeping them alert during long meditation, and as monasteries multiplied, so did tea gardens. Merchants carried the dried leaves along caravan routes, where the plant's bitterness was offset by adding milk, salt, or spices according to local taste. By the time tea reached Europe, it had become a luxury heavy with social meaning, served in special rooms with elaborate equipment. What had started as a remedy ended as a global habit, shaping economies, sparking taxes and protests, and giving countless cultures a daily ritual of their own.