The history of tea - Shunan Teng

Trace the origins of tea and find out how it became the second most consumed beverage in the world.

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Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water — and from sugary Turkish Rize tea to salty Tibetan butter tea, there are almost as many ways of preparing the beverage as there are cultures on the globe. Where did this beverage originate, and how did it become so popular? Shunan Teng details tea’s long history.

Lesson by Shunan Teng, animation by Steff Lee.

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[mirzamay]

Asian cultures are so ancient, complicated and beautiful. Their variable senses of art and culinary skills is amazing.

[pixel_]

China: *invents tea*
India: nice
Russia: nice
Turkey: nice
Greece: nice
France: nice
Italy: nice
Britain:*GIVE ME THE PLANT*

[skeksilthechamberlain]

I love how it starts out happy talking about how tea became a popular drink then suddenly takes a dark turn into the opium wars. That escalated quickly.

[akshayramdaw]

Britain: "We will pay you in drugs"
China: "We don't want your drugs!"
Britain: "Did you say war!!"

[theteethburglar]

China: *boils water*
Britain: yes, and...
China: *puts in leaf*
Britain: I WILL TAKE ALL OF YOUR STOCK.

[cheekibreeki]

Shennong: (Accidentally poisoned himself 72 times)

Life: "Am I a Joke to You?"

[indigo]

me: *has to catch up 9 lectures, 3 due assignments and basically the last 5 years of my life*
YouTube: here, watch the history of tea 🍵
me: okay 😌

[Jean-drlo]

A moment of silence for those brittish people who thinks they invented tea.

[puchy]

There was another story that a Chinese emperor was boiling a pot of water under a tree. Leaves from said tree fell into the water and before he could remove them they began to brew. He decided to try the water and loved it, so he decided to plant more of the tree, which turned out to be a tea plant.

[ninetiesangel]

The British: Hippity hoppity your tea is now my property.

[suhani]

ASIAN COUNTRIES INVENT SOMETHING:
BRITISH: ITS FREE REAL ESTATE!

[thischannelisdead]

People: Why are you drinking tea at 2:30AM in the morning?

Me: I am paying a tribute to my ancestors

[cyborgz]

China: Do You Want Some Water?
U.K: Nah.
China: What If We Put A Leaf In It?
U.K: *PERHAPS*

[janyangzi]

Uncle Iroh: Euch! This tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice.
Zuko: Uncle, that's what all tea is.
Uncle Iroh: How could a member of my own family say something so horrible!

[nida]

Though this story of how tea was discovered is pretty good, i've read different versions of it in my history books.
One version states that once there was an emperor in china around 6th BCE, who was unable to attend to his subjects one day. He felt uneasy, tired and unusually sleepy. So he told his servant to go get his doctor since he thought he might be sick. When the doctor came and was told of the situation, he opened his bag and took out a small purse. From it he took out a number of leaves, and told his majesty to chew them. When the emperor did so, he declared that they were bitter, and just some common leaves which wouldn't be able to cure him. The doctor argued with him, persuading him to try again, but the emperor thought the doctor was just fooling him. So he threatened that if he didn't go away from his town by tomorrow, he would cut off his head. Sighing, the doctor turned back. Just as he was about to leave the emperor's room, His servants came in carrying his hot bath. In fell some leaves from the doctor's purse to the warm water. In a matter of a few seconds, the brown colour mixed with the water, and just like that, invented the world's first tea. When the emperor saw this, he said that if he was not able to chew the tea leaves then perhaps he'll be able to drink them. He ordered the servants to bring a cup of hot water, and then put some tea leaves from the doctor's purse. He reached the cup to his lips, drank, and then broke into a wide grin. He exclaimed it was the best drink he had ever tasted! He said to the doctor that he was very clever, and would reward him instead of cutting his head. Then he told his messengers to go and inform all the agriculturists and farmers to grow this plant and serve this drink to him every morning. Since then, tea has grown in all parts of china
Hope you liked my version of the story!
And hey, how about a cup of tea ☕?

[SeaDog]

What I find most interesting about this is how the Chinese exported not only tea but the culture around drinking tea as well. Herbal decoctions had been known about and used by people all around the world since time immemorial, some of which we still drink today (chamomile for instance). But these were considered medicinal and not consumed as regularly as other beverages. It's amazing how absolutely prolific tea drinking became in the rest of the world because of this.

[rukaiyafahmida]

China : *invents tea*
Greece : thanks
Japan : thanks
Turkey : thanks
Britain : I’m about end this man’s whole career.

[estranged]

I lived in China for 3 years and I love their tea! It's so much different and better than any other tea, even Japanese tea couldn't replace the rich flavors of Chinese tea I got used to, it's certainly addictive!

[sabrinamoreno]

I heard another story of the tea.
There was this Chinese Emperor having a walk around his yard. It was cold so his servants gave him a cup with hot water to drink and keep his hands warm. Then, it started to get windy and the Emperor got cold, so he took a sip of his warm water, but it tasted delicious, yet strange. He never drank something as tasty! He looked down and found out his water wasn't clear anymore, and that inside the cup there were little leaves, darkening his drink. Excited, he went inside his palace and asked his servants what those leaves were, and they told him that it was tea, a common weed that grows (and his servants can't get rid of) inside his yard. The Emperor ordered two servants to bring more leaves into his palace and asked another one to warm some water. He taught his servants to make tea, and since then, that was his favourite drink. He shared his tea with his family and friends, and it quickly became the traditional drink from China.

[riatortilla]

Britain: hey can we have some tea
Chains: sure, but you gotta pay for it
Britain: sure, here’s some silver
China: cool
Britain: wait nvm, here, have some drugs