From medicinal bitter broth to global commodity: the long evolution of tea
Long before it was a refined afternoon ritual, tea was a savory, medicinal concoction. Once boiled with ginger and onions in ancient China, this botanical wonder transformed from a bitter remedy into a global trade powerhouse that shaped empires and even served as a form of currency.
The history of Camellia sinensis begins in the borderlands of China and northern Myanmar. While legends attribute its discovery to Emperor Shennong around 2737 BCE, physical evidence from the Han dynasty mausoleum in Xi'an confirms tea consumption as early as the 2nd century BCE. Initially, the practice was far from the delicate steeping we know today; during the Tang dynasty, tea was often prepared as a savory broth, boiled with ingredients like onions and spices.
The transition from medicine to beverage was a gradual shift. In the 3rd century AD, the physician Hua Tuo recorded tea's benefits, noting that drinking 'bitter t'u' could improve cognition. By the Song dynasty, the method of steeping loose leaves in hot water became the standard, moving away from the compressed 'tea bricks' used in earlier eras. These bricks were so valuable they functioned as currency, used to pay taxes or trade for goods in regions where coins were scarce.
The global spread of tea was driven by trade and colonial competition. After Portuguese merchants introduced tea to the West in the early 16th century, the British East India Company sought to break the Chinese monopoly by establishing commercial production in India. They discovered tea plants in the Assam region in 1824 and later expanded cultivation to Ceylon in 1867. Today, the industry is a massive global operation, with production spanning from the hills of Darjeeling to the estates of Kenya and Brazil.
Source: History of tea
