Many legends of tea appearance exist and excite fantasy of tea fans. One of the most famous legends tells us about a talapoin, who fell asleep during meditation. Having woken up he got so much angry with himself that he tore out his eyelids and threw them on the earth. Soon here tea trees came up.
Another legend has it that tea is nearly 5,000 years old and was discovered in 2737 b.c. by a Chinese emperor when some tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water.
Starting from the 4th century A.D. tea was used in China as a remedy.
Containing organic acids, essential oils and all necessary vitamins tea was considered to be panacea from all illnesses. Medically, the tea leaf contains a number of chemicals, of which 20-30% is tannic acid, known for its anti-inflammatory and germicidal properties. It also contains an alkaloid (5%, mainly caffeine), a stimulant for the nerve centre and the process of metabolism. Tea with the aromatics in it may help resolve meat and fat and thus promote digestion. It is, therefore, of special importance to people who live mainly on meat, like many of the ethnic minorities in China. A popular proverb among them says, "Rather go without salt for three days than without tea for a single day." In 9th century Chinese liked tea so much that recognized it the national drink and invented a special ritual of tea ceremony.
Chinese tea culture, despite its richness and multiformity, experienced two considerable periods of lull, after which nearly all tea traditions were restored from the very beginning.
This Turning point took place in yearly 1970 yy in Taiwan. The oil crisis damaged the export of Taiwanese tea and tea industry of the island was about to die. To save it the Taiwanese government decided to increase home consumption of tea. They organized the first tea championship and the price for the tea - winner was fixed so much high, that it became extremely profitable to produce tea and drinking such tea became the point of prestige.
One cannot just so drink expensive tea, produced in very small portions - few tens of Kilos a year - you have to demonstrate your respect to this tea that is to turn the process of tea-drinking into a ceremony.
Thus Taiwan citizens started recollecting and inventing Chinese tea tradition anew. Some years later the "Tea Ceremonial Fever" reaches the continent and develops incredibly quickly. Chinese have great fantasy and adjust ceremonies and tea-drinkings to the current event and consumers needs. Thus there is no standard variant of Chinese ceremonial tea drinking, but many variants, complicated with additional effects and sights, pretend to the title of ceremonies
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