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Tea History
The history of tea began long ago in China over 5,000 years ago. Emperor Shen Nung was a very wise man, as he had ordered all drinking water to be boiled as a hygienic precaution. While on a long journey to visit a distant region of his realm, the Emperor stopped to rest. While the servants were boiling the drinking water, as ordered, a breeze blew a few leaves into the water from a nearby bush. They infused into the water making a brownish liquid. This intrigued the Emperor, and he sampled the new brew. To his delight he found it very refreshing. And so it began - our long love affair of tea! The consumption of tea soon spread all over China. A young man, Lu Yu , in 800 A.D. Wrote the first book, the Ch’a Ching, on tea. It described the methods of tea cultivation and preparation in ancient China. LuYu was highly revered by the Emperor and the Buddhist monks. A Buddhist priest, Yeisei, was known as the “Father of Tea”. He introduced the first tea seeds to Japan. Tea consumption quickly spread throughout Japan as well, with instant approval from the highest royal courts down to all sectors of Japanese society. 
The elusive beverage finally filtered into Europe during the reign of Elizabeth I. Since tea was well over $100 per pound, it quickly became the fashionable drink of the wealthy. The prices fell as the volume of tea sales increased, which made it more accessible to everyone. The mistress of the house did carry the only key to the tea box for safe keeping.
AFTERNOON TEA
The English initially had two meals a day. Breakfast, served early in the day and Dinner, which was a heavy meal served at the end of a long day.
It is said that Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford (1783-1857), one of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting, had an uncomfortable “sinking feeling” in the late afternoon. Anna ordered she be served a small afternoon meal in her private room around five o’clock. She invited her friends to join her in indulging in this Afternoon ritual of tea, small bread and butter sandwiches, assorted cakes and sweets. Thus, an “Afternoon Tea” was born! Afternoon Tea soon spread in popularity. There were two types of tea service; “High” and “Low”. “Low” tea was served in the late afternoon on ‘low’ side tea tables, usually by the wealthy. They kept the traditional menu of small tea sandwiches, bite sized cakes and sweets. Presentation was key and it became customary to show off their best tea wares, such as silver, china, and crystals. Women got together and enjoyed each others conversation and kept up to date on the latest “news” (gossip). “High” tea was served as the main meal on a ‘high’ table. This was enjoyed by the middle and lower classes. It consisted of a full dinner menu with meats, potatoes, vegetables, breads, and tea. Tea Gardens also became popular. Enjoyed by men and women alike. 
In 1650, Peter Stuyvesant brought tea to the American colonists in New Amsterdam, later called New York. Soon the colonists were drinking more tea than all of England. In the 1880’s, America was the largest importer of tea.
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In 1904, a tea plantation owner introduced Iced Tea. He had a hot tea booth set up at the St. Louis World’s Fair. Since the weather was extremely hot that day, tea sales were down and cold beverages were favored by the patrons. In desperation to save his investment and time he quickly added ice to his tea and became an instant hit! Little did he know that Iced Tea was one of the highlights of the fair and would become one of our most favored drinks. Americans drink 140 million cups of tea each day and 80% of that is in the form of iced tea.
At the turn of the 20th century, tea distributors would give samples to business owners in hopes of drumming up business. To make it simpler to distribute the loose leaf tea, the samples were put into small bags, made from hand-sewn silk muslin. Instead of the business owners opening up the bags and using the tea leaves in the traditional way, they left the tea in the bags. Thus the invention of “Tea Bags”! A patented was taken out on the tea bag. Thomas Sullivan from New York, a tea and coffee shop merchant, successfully shipped his tea bags around the world.
