The Grand H2G2 Tea Party
Created | Updated May 26, 2007
Welcome, , to the Grand H2G2 Tea Party!
An Introduction
The place for all H2G2 tea-lovers to congregate with mugs of their favourite beverage and debate the age-old questions: Milk first or last? Milk at all? Are teabags an abomination? And where can you find a decent cuppa in the USA?
Come with your mug and tea of preference -
will be supplied!A Short History of Tea
The myths surrounding the origin of tea are numerous. In one popular story, Chinese Emperor Shennong was boiling a bowl of water to purify it before drinking. Leaves from a nearby tree fell into the water, which began to change colour. Curious, the Emperor took a sip of the new liquid, and enjoyed it so much that a new drink was created. Tea spread throughout China. One fan, Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, described tea as "the froth of the liquid jade" and included it as a major ingredient in the elixir of life.
The first tea was brought to Japan around 800AD by the Buddhist priest Yeisei, known as the Father of Tea in Japan. Receiving imperial sponsorship, the drink became popular in all echelons of Japanese society. The preparation of tea was elevated to an art form, and even warlords would stop for tea before battles. Tea tournaments became popular among the nobility, who would compete in naming various blends of tea.
At this point, news of tea began to filter back to Europe.1 It was the Dutch who first imported it to Europe, and it became wildly popular in the Hague, where it could cost over £50 per pound. The beverage then spread to France, where, in 1680, the first mention was made of adding milk.
Shortly afterwards, tea arrived in England and "tea mania" swept the nation. A whole new meal was created, afternoon tea, and tea gardens and coffee houses2 sprang up all over the country. From here, the drink crossed the Atlantic and became a firm favourite in the American colonies. In 1773, an attempt to tax tea imports to America caused the Boston Tea Party and, thus, the American Revolution. In return, Americans invented both iced tea and teabags in the 1904 and 1908 respectively.
1However, early accounts were unreliable: one suggested that the leaves be boiled, buttered and eaten.2Which, despite the name, mostly served tea
