We have a tendency to call many things that we soak in warm water a tea. But technically speakingit’s only tea if it’s produced in the leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen plant related to the fragrant flowering plant which many recognize.

It’s native to China and India. The plant was introduced to Japan and lots of parts of Southeast Asia. Today, leaf tea has been grown in more than one hundred countries to meet the worldwide demand. According to Chinese legend, tea was created in 2727 BC, when the Emperor Shen Nong was purifying water at the shelter of a tea tree, and several leaves hauled into the bud.

The resulting brew, of excellent odor, colour and taste, created the emperor rejoice. Tea soon became a daily beverage in Chinese civilization. In India, another legend tells the story of Prince Dharma, who left his homeland for China, to preach Buddhism. He pledged not to sleep throughout his 9-year mission. Towards the end of the third year, when he was overtaken by fatigue, he grabbed a few loose tea leaves off a tea tree and chewed them up.

They gave him the strength necessary to stay alert for the remaining years of his mission. The Japanese version of the story has the exhausted Bodi Dharma falling asleep, however. Upon awakening, he was disgusted with himself, he ripped off his eyelids, to make sure that they would never inadvertently shut. The area where he pulled them on the ground generated enchanted (tea) shrubs with leaves with the capability to keep eyelids open.