Another version has it that Wan Tu, the evil, cruel and despotic emperor of China, after being banished to a far-off Southern region, sat in the shade of a big bush to brood about his revenge. The emperor plunged into poverty and barely had enough hot water to fill his cup. One fine day, a leaf from this bush fell in his cup and he enjoyed the tasty, refreshing and relaxing beverage so much that it cleared his mind,
and for seven long years he remained under that bush, drinking tea and repenting of his past tyrannies. It was he who chose the name TAI, meaning "peace", to refer to this new elixir. The emperor returned to the capital city in disguise and became a valuable adviser to the prime minister. When the prime minister passed away, he was elected as his successor and then he introduced tea as the official beverage of the country. On his deathbed, Wan Tu revealed himself and, to honor this wonderful beverage, poet Lu Yu wrote the famous book in which he describes the benefits of tea: The Classic of Tea.
The West would have to wait until the 15th century to enjoy a cup of tea.
The First Tea Bag
Americans claim that the first tea bags spread in the United States back in 1908, and that they were inspired on sample bags that used to be sent to customers.
The British, however, have another version: in the post-war period, tea had become astronomically expensive, and to cut costs, tea leaves were packed loose.
This produced a tea with fine dust that made the beverage tastier but cloudier. It was then that Sandy Fowles, a Scottish engineer, had the idea of placing tea leaves in bags. His wife made the first bag from hand-sewn silk muslin bags and Fowle pitched his idea to one of the richest merchants in Ceylon, who immediately bought the idea.
The inventor of the tea bag was paid a certain sum of money and therefore lost the right to claim the millions of dollars in revenues yielded by this world famous invention.
The Art of Tea
The first leaves were brewed in open pots, but during the Ming Dynasty it was found that soaking the leaves in boiling water resulted in a much tastier and aromatic beverage. To preserve the heat, the Chinese invented the teapot –a container with a lid adapted from the vessel generally used for wine–, which, during the Tang Dynasty, was made of white porcelain.
Once tea trade had popularized, porcelain and red clay teapots were exported to Europe as luxury items. Trying to equal the skills and knowledge of the Chinese, who jealously guarded their experimental porcelain preparation methods, was a great challenge for European ceramists. Nowadays, teapots are made of a wide range of materials.
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