The History of Ceylon Tea

Under Dutch rulers, Ceylon started out as a country with cinnamon plantations. However, when Britain took over the country, private cinnamon plantations were prohibited. This change was made for financial reasons to create a monopoly for the East India Company, owned by Britain.

When cinnamon plantation owners lost money in economic bad times in 1833, the cash crop became coffee. This ended in 1869 when a fungal disease called Coffee Rust Disease wiped out the coffee crop. But bad fortune is just an opportunity in disguise.

Tea plants were brought to Ceylon as early as 1824 by the British but it wasn't until 1867 when James Taylor, a British planter started the first tea plantation at the Loolecondera estate in Ceylon. His plantation was 21 acres. Five years later, he built a complete factory and one year after that, he began selling tea in London.

Opportunity Knocks and Ceylon Grabs It

Shortly after that, coffee plantations were turned into Ceylon tea plantations. By 1888, tea plantation acreage increased by 21000%. Tea plantation owners sent representatives to make a debut at the Chicago World Fair in 1893 and sold a record one million tea packets. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and Ceylon Tea Traders Association were formed in the late 1800s and these two organizations still exist as a resource for Ceylon tea businesses. Businessmen realized that research is always the cornerstone of innovation and soon established a Tea Research Institute that would give the best tips at growing and harvesting Ceylon loose tea and tea bags.

Worldwide Demand

In 1903, Ceylon loose tea was being transported to worldwide destinations. The process of reaching Australia, England, America and other countries that wanted the gourmet tea was slow. Ceylon loose tea was first packaged in tea chests. Bullock carts, two-wheeled carts pulled by oxen, carried the tea chests down railroad tracks to the railroad station. The train puffed and puffed at 6 mph through the hills until it got close to its destination where the tea was to be auctioned. Next, the tea chests were boarded onto steam ships sent to their final locations.

Fast Forward to Ceylon in the 1960s

By the 1960s, Ceylon tea plantations were exporting over 200,000 metric tons. In 1965, Ceylon gained worldwide recognition as the world's largest tea exporter. In 1972, Ceylon officially became Sri Lanka.

Unfortunately, Sri Lanka government took over the industry and decided that no cultivator could have 50 acres in 1975. Despite this, Sri Lanka gained more world fame when they supplied tea to the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympic Games. The industry seemed to flourish again but the government decided to sell 23 state-owned plantations and privatize the industry.

What is Ceylon Tea?

Ceylon black, green, and white teas are all are produced in Sri Lanka. Ceylon black tea however is the country's specialty. It has a rich taste and strong aroma and has a golden yellow color. Sometimes it can be flavored with spices or orange-flavored.

Authentic Ceylon tea, whether Ceylon loose or Ceylon tea bags, have a logo of a lion carrying a sword. The logo tells you that the tea has been grown and harvested in Sri Lanka. Loose tea is always the better purchase because the leaves give you a more complex and sophisticated tasting tea.

Ceylon tea plants are grown on mountainsides at various levels above sea level. Pesticides are not used. Ceylon loose teas can include Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Green, and a variety of green teas combined with fruity flavors and flower flavors.

The History of Flowering Tea or Blooming Tea

Flowering tea, say some, developed as recently as the 1980s in a Chinese province. Given the ancient history of tea, it would be truly remarkable to think that flowering tea (or blooming tea as it is also known) was such a recent innovation.

There are many claims to the creation of this 'artistic tea' although hard facts and proof seem to be thin on the ground. This leaves a lot to the imagination and assumptions! There is no doubt though that artisans created flowering tea buds or balls, and that this craft originated in China - some say the Anhui Province, others say the Fujian Province. For most of us, it really does not matter where it was invented; suffice to say that it has become a strong export for China to the western world and as a result, we have a lovely choice of flowering tea products.

Artisans, skilled workers who produce items by hand, make the flowering tea buds. Loose green tea, together with loose white and black teas are combined with flowers tea and petals in unique styles to create flowering tea. Once the combination of teas is selected, the buds are hand sewn, covered with material, put in a kiln to dry out, packaged individually and then despatched. As the process is labour intensive, the price of these buds is consequently relatively high.

Watching the first flowering tea is an amazingly satisfying experience. As the bloom emerges from a tight ball, to become something completely different and quite indistinguishable from that grey lump of tea, there is a sense of wonder that something like this can be created.

With immersion of around three minutes, the tea bud will be transformed into a blossom. Some buds will be more spectacular than others, varying from a lump of long green leaves, to incredible blossoms with wafting tentacles such as "Touching Dragons". The names alone are enough to build much anticipation - "Jasmine Silvery Strawberry Ball", "Double Lion Pearl", "Seven Sons Congratulating".

After the initial visual impact, it seems somewhat of an anti-climax to drink the tea. But that is exactly what the flowering tea is designed for. Again, there are varying levels of quality of tea. Some blossoms are made from quality white tea, but most are made from loose green tea. It is generally true that you get what you pay for. A cheap product is likely to be made of inferior products and may not have the desired pleasant taste - or any taste at all. Not all teas are borne equal!

A satisfying blooming tea is definitely a trial and error process, and even more so when the quality of tea is taken into account. But it is not hard to find fabulous flowering teas these days. Most tea stockists provide pictures so you can be assured of seeing a beautiful unfolding of handmade tea buds.

Information about Tea

Tea is such an English thing and many of us now prefer adding nutritional honey to our tea which makes this a great healthy beverage.

Even though tea originated in China the British have a former King, Charles 11, who married a passionate tea drinker who in turn helped this popular beverage become very fashionable. She was called Catharine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess.

A bit of a trendsetter in her day she soon introduced her passion of drinking tea to the Royal court and visitors. This popularity quickly spread amongst the wealthy and the East India Tea Company, quick to spot an ever increasing market started to export their tea.

Coffee shops were becoming quite established at this time and introduced this new exciting drink to their menus. Little did they realize the benefits of drinking tea which include the many vital minerals, essential vitamins, and zinc properties it contains.

Honey nutrition enhances this beverage further and as it is sweeter than sugar we use less of it to sweeten our tea whilst doing nothing to harm the taste or health benefits.

The history of tea however begins in China. Legends tell us in 2737 BC, the Chinese emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled some drinking water. The wind was blowing leaves around and a tea leaf landed in the water.

Hmmm, thought Shen Nung when he tasted this, "this is rather nice" he was an herbalist who dabbled in plants and herbs and by sheer accident they had invented what was probably the first ever cup of tea.

Under the Tang dynasty (618-906 AD), tea became established as the national drink of China. This does appear strange to those who enjoy their great British cuppa because we have been drinking this for more than 350 years.

In the Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) tea was also popular as tea containers have been discovered buried for hundreds of years in tombs. However, in the eight century a book was written called the Tea Classic or Ch'a Ching when the writer Lu Yu realized that tea had indeed become a firm favorite.

Legend also has it that an Indian Prince who converted to Buddhism in the sixth century decided to go to China spreading the word about his religion, much as I do about spreading the word about the benefits of honey. He didn't believe that you should sleep for too long and was furious with himself when upon wakening he had done just that.

In a rage he cut off his eyelids and threw them to the ground, they supposedly became the first tea bush. However this is only legend! If he had been drinking tea in high quantities (not recommended) the caffeine it contains would probably have helped him stay awake a little longer.

Not long after this tea was first introduced to Japan. Japanese Buddhist monks stated to travel to China to study. They discovered tea drinking there and introduced tea into Japan where their tea drinking habits are now a vital part of Japanese culture, as seen in the development of the Tea Ceremony.

We in the Western world have the Dutch to thank mainly for our now widespread tasty drink, the cup of tea. The Portuguese in the sixteenth century had already established trading in the East and the Dutch jumped on the band-wagon so to speak.

They established tea trading to Western cultures after it had become an extremely popular drink in Holland. It was still considered to be a drink that only the wealthy could enjoy because of the high taxation on tea. 

Britain, who has always been a little suspicious of continental trends still had a long way to go before they became known as a tea drinking country.

The great British Cuppa had not yet been born! It is assumed that weary sailors would bring gifts of tea back with them from their travels around the 1600s.

It seems the first dated reference to tea in Great Britain is from an advert in a London newspaper, Mercurius Politicus, from September 1658. It was announced that 'China Drink, called by the Chinese, Tcha, alias "Tee" was on sale at a coffee house.

The first coffee house had been established in London in 1652, and tea was still very unfamiliar to most people, in fact it was seen as something of a curiosity. Little did they know then how the Great British Cuppa would become an institution. "Put the kettle on" would be heard in just about every household!

There was a huge debate in the eighteenth century concerning the taxation of tea, and furious arguments as to whether drinking tea was good or bad for people's health. Luckily for us medical and scientific research means we now know that drinking three to four cups of tea a day helps maintain our health. But this information was not available to tea drinkers 250 years ago.

Wealthy "speakers" in particular started rumors that tea drinking among the working classes would lead to weakness and a couldn't care less attitude! Hmmm, they wouldn't get away with that today!

During the First World War, when the British government took over the importation of tea to Britain in order to ensure it be available at an affordable price the taxes which were high were considered to be unreasonable as tea had become a mood enhancer. Unfortunately during the Second World War, tea was rationed from 1940 until 1952.

Now the Great British Cuppa is enjoyed freely in just about every country and corner of the world. From Bone China tea cups in posh London hotels to mugs and tea bags in everyday kitchens and huge metal flasks on many a building site.

The health benefits of tea and the nutrition of honey as a sweetener is just an every day occurrence even though their combined history is rich and varied their prices today are quite reasonable and an essential on just about every British food shopping list.

Who would have thought it, a Portuguese princess started the tradition of the Great British Cuppa!

A Long History of Tea

Discovered in China, tea has exerted a profound influence on societies and cultures throughout the world. The tea story begins in China around 5,000 years ago. the legendary Emperor of China and inventor of agriculture and Chinese medicine was drinking a bowl of boiling water some time around 2737 BC when a few leaves were blown from a nearby tree into his water, changing the color. As a scientist, the emperor became intrigued by the liquid, drank some, and found it very appetizing and was pleasantly surprised by its flavor and restorative properties. He immediately gave the command that tea bushes to be planted in the gardens of his palace.

Thus the custom of brewing fresh tea leaves in hot water began and it quickly spread. After the creation of tea, consumption spread throughout the Chinese culture. In 800 A.D. Lu Yu wrote the first book on tea, the Cha Ching. His work was so explicit and complete that it projected him into near sainthood within his own lifetime. Tea production in China, historically, was a laborious process, conducted in distant and often poorly accessible regions. This led to the rise of many apocryphal stories and legends surrounding the harvesting process.

Until the fifth century A.D., tea was primarily used as a remedy, due to the medicinal benefits attributed to it. From this time onwards, China's upper class adopted the fashion of presenting packages of tea as highly esteemed gifts and of enjoying drinking tea at social events and in private homes. At around the same time the Chinese tea ceremony began to develop and the tidings of tea began to spread as it reached Japan.

Advent of tea in the west
Tea arrived in Europe via Dutch and Portuguese sailors at the beginning of the 17th century. The tea trade was a significant factor in establishing connections between east and west. In China, tea leaves were used as a substitute for coins. In Europe, tea was used as a symbol of high status and as a stimulus for many technological developments. The locals had to make do with tea dust to make their brew. Finding the flavor strong, they experimented with milk and spices, sugar etc. thus their was a whole new evolution to the methodology adopted for the preparation of tea.

At the beginning of the 18th century, tea arrived in Northern America, quickly becoming a desirable drink there as well. However the British later levied taxes on the tea commodities which greatly angered the general public. They exposed their frustration in the form of demonstrations and boycott movements that denied the ships carrying the tea items unload. One famous case was that which occurred in Boston, where a group of locals boarded one of the cargo ships and threw all their shipments into the sea. This famous occurrence in this regard was named the "Boston Tea Party"

A significant rise in tea consumption resulted from the appearance of tea bags at the beginning of the 20th century. With the various varieties of tea discovered, it is only but obvious that the entire world delves itself in the rich aroma of the brew. During the 20th century, the source of tea crops spread throughout the world, from Japan to Africa and South America. Towards the end of the 20th century, an additional rise in the western world's tea consumption occurred and also in evidence was a demand for quality teas.

India, which is the largest producer of tea (off late, its position has been displaced by china) did not drink tea for pleasure till the British introduced the culture. It was primarily considered a medicinal herb and with the British establishing tea plantations along the borders of Assam, the tea culture was thereby introduced in India.

Whatever be the origin, tea has now spread across classes and ethnicity to every of the world and continues to evolve even as you read this.

The History of Pu-erh Tea

The Chinese tea history of Pu-erh tea is fascinating. Pu-erh tea is one of the oldest types of tea in China with a rich history of over 1700 years that can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD). During its height of popularity Pu-erh tea was freely traded and even used as money for the bartering of goods. Premium Pu-erh tea was offered as a tribute tea to the Emperor of China and to this day Pu-erh tea remains a highly valuable commodity. Pu-erh tea is revered in China as a traditional medicinal tea with many health benefits. It is regarded by tea connoisseurs as the King of Tea for its unique flavor and aroma.

Pu-erh tea also known as “puer” or “po lei” in Cantonese gets it's name from the city Pu-erh in south western China, where the trade for Pu-erh tea was conducted. Not far from Pu-erh city in the areas of Xishuangbanna and Simao, south of Yunnan Province the cultivation and processing of Pu-erh tea was carried out to this day. With elevations of up to 2000 metres, it is high up in these mountains where the air is cool and crisp, amidst scenes of unspoiled beauty and fertile lands that the tea plantations for this unique tea can be found. The secrets for processing Pu-erh tea are carefully guarded and in the past trespassers mistaken as spys have been known to be killed on private tea plantations. To this day the tea secrets for Pu-erh production remains ruthlessly guarded and it is only in China where genuine Pu-erh tea can be produced.

Throughout chinese tea history Pu-erh tea is well known for its unique ability to undergo a post fermentation process designed for further aging. Like classic wines this aging process allows these fine teas to develop added complexity to its character while shedding its harsh youthful elements. The active microbes living within the tea has lead Pu-erh tea to be known as the "Living Tea". This continuous evolution is very exciting for collectors of Pu-erh tea who likes to follow closely the transformation of their fine teas after each passing year. Many believe that it is from these active microbes that Pu-erh tea gets it's many health benefits and reknown as a traditional medicinal tea with restorative powers.

A popular and insightful story about Pu-erh tea tells of a grandfather who makes fine teas for his grandson to enjoy. Pu-erh teas are stored and left to mature for decades like classic wines. These premium teas can fetch astronomical prices at auctions and are worth their weight in gold, often times more.

Pu-erh tea has a wide spectrum of taste and aroma that is very compelling and at times uncompromising. Ranging from lightly floral, honey, heather and fruits to harsh peat, leather, organics, grass, tobacco, wood and deep earth the taste and aromas of these fine teas are exceptionally varied. The color of young Pu-erh tea can start from a golden yellow of summer hay before developing to a deep reddish brown reminiscent of the sunset after 30 years of aging. Black Pu-erh has an imposing aroma of heavy earth that is comparable to the sweet fragrance of mineral deposits emerging from deep within the forest floor after a heavy downpour. Good Pu-erh tea has excellent clarity and clean flavors that is warming to both the body and soul.

The Legend of Tea

The Origin of Tea Legend

The tea story begins in China around 5,000 years ago. Legend has it that the emperor Shen Nung was a scientist and lover of the arts. One of his proclamations required that all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One day while visiting in the countryside of his far-reaching realm, he and the court stopped to rest. In accordance with his law, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from a bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown liquid was infused into the water. As a scientist, the emperor became intrigued by the liquid, drank some, and found it very appetizing. The bush happened to be a tea plant and this is how tea was created.

The Chinese

After the creation of tea, consumption spread throughout the Chinese culture. In 800 A.D. Lu Yu wrote the first book on tea, the Ch'a Ching. Utilizing his vast memory of observed events and places, he classified the differing methods of tea cultivation and preparation in ancient China. His work was so explicit and complete that it projected him into near sainthood within his own lifetime. Supported by the emperor himself, his work clearly showed the Zen Buddhist philosophy to which he was exposed as a child. It was this form of tea service that Zen Buddhist missionaries would later introduce to imperial Japan.

The Japanese

The first tea seeds were brought to Japan by the Buddhist priest Yeisei, who had seen the value of tea in China in enhancing religious mediation. As a result, he is known as the "Father of Tea" in Japan. Because of this partnership, tea in Japan has always been associated with Zen Buddhism.

Tea was heightened to an art form resulting in the creation of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Cha-no-yu. Irish-Greek journalist and historian Lafcadio Hearn described this ceremony: "The Tea ceremony requires years of training and practice to graduate in art...yet the whole of this art, as to its detail, signifies no more than the making and serving of a cup of tea. The supremely important matter is that the act be performed in the most perfect, most polite, most graceful, most charming manner possible".

As more people became involved in the excitement surrounding tea, the purity of the original Zen concept was lost. The tea ceremony became corrupted, excessive and very elaborate. Three great Zen priests restored tea to its original place in Japanese society: Ikkyu, a prince who became a priest and was successful in guiding the nobles away from their corruption of the tea ceremony, Murata Shuko, the student of Ikkyu and very influential in reintroducing the Tea ceremony into Japanese society and Sen-no Rikkyu, a priest who set the rigid standards for the ceremony, largely used intact today.

A Little Part of Tea History

Tea's proper use is to amuse the idle and relax the studious, to dilute the full meal of those who cannot use exercise and will not use abstinence.

The tea we drink and know so well is actually a camellia, Camellia sinensis. First discovered as a tea, or, dried leaf tip that could be added to boiling water as a drink.

Its discovery was due to the ancient Chinese culture of herbal medicine and is traditionally attributed to Shen Nong, said to have lived about 2.500 years ago.

Teas origin was as a medicinal herb, used to clear the mind and was promptly adopted by scholars and Buddhist monks during meditation.

Although tea had been widely prepared as a drink throughout China for over 2000 years, we must remember that China, to the Europeans was totally unknown, except for very minor reports and references in books, i.e. from a Persian traveller in 1559 who mentions tea as a wonderful antidote to fever, headache and stomach ache!

It was, however, the Dutch who first imported tea into Europe in 1610 as a purely medicinal drink, but by 1637, tea was being imported into Holland as a hot drink with an increasing popularity. Holland, at this time, was the tea drinking country, not England.
Tea was drunk in England, on a small scale. However, tea arrived in England with a new vigor via the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, with the return to England of Charles II, who had lived in exile among the tea drinking Dutch.

But it was via Portugal that tea drinking in England received its real boost. The Portuguese had, throughout the 15th century been Europe’s leading sea power, with a vast and adventurous merchant fleet trading between Lisbon, India and the southern Chinese port of Canton. Portugal had been the very first to encounter tea having a virtual control of trade to Asia until about 1600.
Portugal had been the first foreign power to be granted a trading concession by the Imperial Chinese government, with imported goods, hardly known in Europe, including silks, porcelain, lacquer ware and tea, establishing Lisbon as an important and wealthy city.

By the middle of the 17th century, tea was the drink of choice at the Portuguese court.

In 1661 a political union was established between England and Portugal and as was the style of the day, the political union was followed by a Royal marriage between England and Portugal, which symbolized the union between the two kingdoms.

In 1662 Princess Catherine of Braganza was sent to England to be the Royal bride of Charles ll. Catherine, now Queen of England, further promoted tea at the English court. The new Queens passion for tea firmly established tea drinking at court, which very quickly spread throughout high society.

Today, tea is an inexpensive drink enjoyed by anyone who wishes to drink it, but it was not always so. Tea in the 17th and 18th century was very expensive, indeed, a luxury drink enjoyed only by the wealthy classes. We can still see preserved posters from Thomas Garways London tea and coffee shop, with tea priced at 16 to 60 shillings a pound! And in 1664 a poster, advertising tea at 4Pounds and 5/- shillings for a little over two pound weight. In 1664 this was a vast amount of money, well beyond the purse of the average family.

By the early 18th century, the fashion for tea was gaining new ground and the price for standard grade tea had dropped to about 12 - 14 shillings a pound, a sum of money equal to the average weekly income of a master craftsman at the time.

With tea being a privilege of the rich, it soon became something to show-off about and the tea ceremony began to develop. This allowed the host to give a lavish display of wealth and status, in the 18th century, your wealth and social standing was something to display and the grander the display, the better.

The tea table became a social centre and to extend hospitality to guests could be an expensive exercise, we find a London magazine of 1744 reporting that it could cost more to maintain a fashionable tea table than to keep two children and a nurse!

Both English and Continental porcelain makers and silver smiths vied with each other to produce the most elegant tea wares for the fashionable tea table.

Fine furniture makers, produced beautiful tea table furniture and tea caddies, where the lady of the house could safely lock the tea away from servants with sticky fingers! In fact, it was a perquisite, or privilege of the senior footman to salvage the tealeaves from the tea pot, dry them in the sunlight and reuse them for himself, or, even sell them.

In the 18th century, tea was usually served, mid afternoon, after dinner, which was served in the early afternoon. The lady of the house presided over the ritual of the tea table, which by now had become almost a ceremony, with rules of etiquette specific to taking tea. By example, there is a Thomas Rawlinson cartoon; named, The French Visitors, The Frenchmen are seen, cross legged and red in the face, obviously, desperate to relieve them, written in the balloon shape coming from their mouths is, Please, Madam, no more tea!! The joke, in 18th century terms, was that they did not know the tea table etiquette which required a guest to place his / her spoon in the tea cup to indicate to the hostess, no more, thank you.

This generous hostess had kept refilling the French visitors’ cups and they, too polite to say, no more, thank you.

As the 18th century began to fade into the early 19th century, tea, now being grown by the British in India and Ceylon, became less and less expensive, eventually to become a staple of the poorer classes. Of particular benefit, although not understood at the time was the fact the drinking water was now being boiled, so that the many diseases spread by contaminated drinking water began to decline.

The tea, that we know today, is a very inexpensive drink, enjoyed by millions, the elegant ritual of the tea table, now reduced to a mug and a tea bag.