Spilling the Tea On Tea

Over the past several years, there’s been an observable boom in the popularity of tea within the Western world with the emerging obsession many Gen Z and Millenials have of boba tea. Just about all of today’s young people, of Asian descent or not, seem to be familiar with boba tea; going to a boba tea shop has become one of the main places people go to socialize now. However, tea, of course, has been a popular beverage in the West for hundreds of years before this. Most commonly associated with the British, who dominated the tea trade of the West throughout the 18th century, tea has long symbolized wealth, class and an overall sense of poshness. Yet, with the rising popularity of boba tea (whose shops are typically owned by Asians), this notion of tea being for the high class is dissolving. Tea has an extensive history which can be used to analyze just how it grew to be a symbol of the colonial powers that came to dominate the East.

Regardless of how the leaf landed in Emperor Nong’s water, the Emperor greatly enjoyed drinking the leaf-infused water and felt the need to research the medicinal properties of the plant further.

There are various stories and fables that explain the origins of tea, with many scholars continuing to debate the location of the origin of tea. According to Joseph M. Walsh, a tea dealer who wrote the 1892 book that provides a complete history of tea until the mid-19th century “Tea, Its History and Meaning,” one origin story is that tea was created in 2737 B.C.E., when a leaf fell into scholar, philosopher and emperor Shen Nong’s boiling water while he was replenishing the fire. Peet’s Coffee, a world-famous coffee and tea company, goes further and accredits the origin of tea to a leaf that fell from an overhanging tree into Emperor Nong’s boiling water. Regardless of how the leaf landed in Emperor Nong’s water, the Emperor greatly enjoyed drinking the leaf-infused water and felt the need to research the medicinal properties of the plant further.

Another origin story, according to Peet’s Coffee and Beatrice Hohenegger, author of “Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West,” cites the origin of tea as having been when Indian Prince Bodhi-Dharma, who founded the Zen school of Buddhism, traveled to China in 520 A.D. to preach Buddhism. One day, during a seven year meditation where he vowed to not sleep, Bodhi-Dharma fell asleep. When he woke up, he cut his eyelids off in order to never shut his eyes again and threw them to the ground. A tea plant sprung up on the ground where his eyelids landed, and thus meditating monks have since been blessed with the gift of tea to aid them in meditation.

Despite the fact that the origins of tea are still disputed, tea consumption only became widespread upon the Tang dynasty (618-907) in China, according to Peet’s Coffee. This was observed as a tea tax was imposed and tea became China’s national drink. Furthermore, it was in this time when Chinese Buddhist monk Lu Yu wrote the Cha Jing, the first known monograph on tea in the world. In his writing, he integrated explanations of different types of teas with notions that reflected Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian schools of thought. It was also in the Tang dynasty when tea began to spread to other nations as well.

Tea as we know it today, which involves steeping dried tea leaves in hot water, did not emerge until the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

Tea was introduced to Japan in around 828 A.D., as noted by Walsh, when Japanese Buddhist monk Saicho brought back tea seeds to plant after studying in China. However, tea was not popular in Japan until around the 13th century, as it was only previously grown in monasteries. According to Peet’s Coffee, one of the most popular ways of preparing tea was by crushing up green tea leaves into a fine powder, which we now know as Matcha.

Tea as we know it today, which involves steeping dried tea leaves in hot water, did not emerge until the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Before then, tea was prepared by compressing tea leaves into bricks or grinding them in a stone mill. However, it was in this era in which the practice of drying, rolling and heating tea leaves in iron woks began to emerge as tea leaves prepared this way were easier to brew tea with as they did not require the use of a whisk.

Interestingly, tea reached the West by traders much earlier than the Ming dynasty. According to Walsh, an Arabian merchant named Soleiman mentioned tea as the official drink of China around 850 A.D.. Several centuries passed before tea began to have a presence in Europe around the 17th century. Some Europeans, such as Marco Polo (1254-1324) who wrote about tea during his travels around the world, encountered tea in their travels prior to this. Regardless, it was in 1610 when the first known ship brought tea to Europe from Macao, according to the University of Minnesota. Tea secured its foothold in Europe around this time as the Dutch East India company dominated the tea trade and brought in tea shipments from Japan and China. Tea was brought into countries in Eastern Europe, such as Russia, by camel trains on the famous Silk Road as well. However, because of the fact that importing tea into Europe at the time was so time-consuming and required a great deal of capital and effort, the tea had a high price which limited its consumption to royals and aristocrats, who regarded tea as a novelty and as a means to connect with the adventure involved in exploring the unfamiliar East.

Drinking tea is a great way for people of all cultures to directly experience one of the most culturally significant beverages throughout various Asian countries.

Within Europe, tea tends to be most commonly identified with the English, with customs such as tea time and tea stores such as Fortnum & Mason having amassed global recognition. Despite this, the English were not immediately drawn towards tea, according to Peet’s Coffee. Tea slowly caught on in England by women who viewed it as a genteel beverage, and it was in 1657 when the first shop that sold tea opened in the country. Tea also gained more traction when King Charles II married Portuguese royal Catherine of Braganza, who loved tea and introduced the idea of tea time to the English court. Shortly thereafter, the British East India Trade Company, who grew to hold a monopoly over tea and acted as the imperial arm of England until around 1763, established a tea factory in Macao that allowed them to secure their first foothold in the East.

Although the origin of tea has a distinctly Asian story, with connections to various Asian schools of thought such as Confucianism and Buddhism, it has since become a symbol of the wealth of the empires that colonized much of Asia. Drinking tea is a great way for people of all cultures to directly experience one of the most culturally significant beverages throughout various Asian countries. However, it is important for people to understand and respect its origins, despite the fact that it may seem like such a trivial thing. Tea has become so Westernized that many people have forgotten or simply do not recognize that it is something deeply important to most Asian cultures.

When approaching anything of a culture that is not directly one’s own, it should be done with respect and of an understanding of its origin or cultural significance. The Westernization of tea provides a valuable lesson on the importance of experiencing seemingly trivial aspects of cultures different to our own with a respectful and informed lens. Learning from and enjoying aspects of different cultures are some of the best ways for people to become better global citizens; however, it is important that in doing so, we are not erasing their history and the significance behind such acts. With the emergence of the popularity of Asian-owned boba tea shops, tea is once again becoming a distinctly Asian beverage. Hopefully, this movement is one step of many that will lead Asians to reclaim the Westernized aspects of their cultures.