Tea

Is there anyone in the world who has never drunk tea? Today, tea is an International drink. However, tea drinking started in China. In fact, there is a belief in China that the Emperor Shen Nung discovered tea 5000 years ago. As he was boiling his drinking water, some leaves from a nearby plant fell into it. He was very pleased with the taste. He said that the drink had been refreshing, had made him feel good and had helped him to stay awake. He tried to grow the plant in his garden. In this way, the Chinese believe, he was responsible for beginning the world-wide custom of tea drinking.

Nowadays, tea grows well in several hot, rainy regions of the world, especially India, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Kenya. Most of the tea which we drink today consists of a mixture of three basic types: Ceylon tea (from Sri Lanka), Indian tea and African tea. Ceylon tea is chosen for its flavour, Indian tea for its strength and African tea is selected for its colour and appearance. The selection and mixing of the different kinds of tea is done by experts called "tasters".

The biggest tea drinkers in the world are the Britsh. Nowadays, the average Briton drinks 1650 cups a year! In the last century, it was no important that companies used to race to deliver the first tea harvest of the year to London. Tea ships (called clippers) used to compete with one another on the journey from the Far East to Britain. This clipper race was an important event that was held every year. Ships representing different countries, such as Britain and the U.S.A , took part in it. The ship which won received a special award, usually cash. A ship called The Cutty Sark had record for many years. You can still see this clipper in London today.

Today, many people would rather use tea bags than loose tea. But the tea bags have only appeared recently. In 1904 , a man called Thomas Sullivan, who owned a small tea and coffee business in the United States, sent samples of his tea in small silk bags to several hundred customers. The customers liked the tea bags so much that they asked for more. Tea bags are now made of a special kind of paper and the making of tea bags is a big industry. Who knows what the next development in the tea business will be? Who knows what they will achieve? What do you think?