Welcome to the Ocean of Tea blog!

Where there is tea, there is culture. From China and Japan to India and Britain. Each of these tea cultures have signature blends, styles and tastes that many tea drinkers can readily name and describe. Beyond the influence of the terrior and preparation, each of these regions brings something unique to the experience of tea. To truly understand what and how, we must explore the interesting past of our beloved beverage, a journey which is both fulfilling and engaging as any you’re likely to find.

Tea is believed to have originated thousands of years ago in Southeast Asia. Modern experts have pinpointed the center of origin to the general area of northeast India, north Burma and Southwest China and Tibet. The Yunnan Province, where today, much of the tea consumed worldwide is grown, is thought to be the birthplace of tea consumption. Interestingly enough, Lincang City of the Yunnan Province is home to the world’s oldest cultivated tea tree, believed to be over 3,200 years old.

Shennong, the Famous Chinese Emperor chewing on herbs.

A popular Chinese legend attributes the creation of tea to Shennong, the legendary Emperor of China, in or around 2737 BC. Considered to be the father of Chinese agriculture and medicine, Shennong was known for tasting herbs and testing their medical value. He is credited with identifying hundreds of herbs (some poisonous) by personally testing the effects on the human body. Chinese legend tells us that Shennong’s discovery of tea was due to burning tea twig leaves being carried up, out of the fire by the hot air and into his cauldron of boiling water. As was ordinary with him, he noted the effects of the beverage and is said to have chewed tea leaves as an antidote to the poisonous herbs he found. It should be noted that tea, in fact, is an antidote for some seventy poisonous herbs.

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The history of tea is filled with an unbelievably diverse group of nouns, verbs and emotions. From adventure, we find fortune; from war we experience revolution and social change. The journey of Camellia Sinensis bush from its early medicinal uses to its modern culture oriented appreciation is in many ways a sweeping metaphor for life itself. Few things in this strange, beautiful world of ours can inspire such a broad range of emotions the way that tea can.

Tea is the second most consumed liquid on the planet, after water. For many of us, we begin each day with a cup of tea, and we know that what lies in that cup will prepare us for whatever lies ahead in our journey through modern life. We enjoy another cup around mid-day, to pick us up and inspire us to finish our ever-growing workload. When we finally arrive home in the evening, we let another cup pull us from the dizzying speed of modern urban life and into a more serene, thoughtful state.

Tea plantation in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia.

The centuries old relationship between the farmers and their land, and the process of taking their crop to the market is still, after all of this time thriving. Long gone are the days of waiting weeks or even months for ships to cross the ocean bringing in new lots of heavily fermented leaves. With the advent of the internet and modern business, a tea connoisseur can find nearly any variety of tea he desires and have it delivered to his doorstep with minimal effort.

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