They would nibble on the leaves raw, add them to soups or greens, or ferment them and chew like betel. People in ancient Asia ate tea for centuries, perhaps even millennia, before ever consuming it as a beverage. Early tea drinking Ī 19th-century Japanese painting depicting Shennong: Chinese legends credit Shennong with the invention of tea. The divergence of Chinese small-leaf tea and Assam tea would correspond to the last glacial maximum. Īssuming a generation of 12 years, Chinese small-leaf tea is estimated to have diverged from Assam tea around 22,000 years ago, while Chinese Assam tea and Indian Assam tea diverged 2,800 years ago. Some Indian Assam tea appears to have hybridized with the species Camellia pubicosta. However, as the Indian Assam tea shares no haplotypes with Western Yunnan Assam tea, Indian Assam tea is likely to have originated from an independent domestication. Thus, Western Yunnan Assam tea and Indian Assam tea both may have originated from the same parent plant in the area where southwestern China, Indo-Burma, and Tibet meet. Unlike Southern Yunnan Assam tea, Western Yunnan Assam tea shares many genetic similarities with Indian Assam-type tea (also C. Many types of Southern Yunnan Assam tea have been hybridized with the closely related species Camellia taliensis. assamica) may have two different parentages – one being found in southern Yunnan ( Xishuangbanna, Pu'er City) and the other in western Yunnan ( Lincang, Baoshan). Given their genetic differences forming distinct clades, Chinese Assam-type tea ( C. However, since there are no known wild populations of this tea, its origin is speculative. sinensis) may have originated in southern China possibly with hybridization of unknown wild tea relatives. Tea plants are native to East Asia and probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north Burma. These may be called tisanes or herbal infusions to prevent confusion with 'tea' made from the tea plant.įurther information: History of tea and History of tea in China Botanical origin They are the infusions of fruit, leaves, or other plant parts, such as steeps of rosehip, chamomile, or rooibos. The term herbal tea refers to drinks not made from Camellia sinensis. During the 17th century, drinking tea became fashionable among the English, who started to plant tea on a large scale in India. Portuguese priests and merchants introduced it to Europe during the 16th century. It was popularised as a recreational drink during the Chinese Tang dynasty, and tea drinking subsequently spread to other East Asian countries. An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the third century AD, in a medical text written by Hua Tuo. Tea plants are native to East Asia and probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northern Burma.

Tea has a stimulating effect in humans primarily due to its caffeine content. There are many different types of tea some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have vastly different profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. After water, it is the most widely consumed drink in the world. Tea is also rarely made from the leaves of Camellia taliensis. Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to China, India and other East Asian countries.

La theine plateau pronounce