a tiny history of tea

The history of tea is both fascinating and complex.  According to legend, the first cup of tea was created by chance (although we know that nothing happens by accident) when leaves from a wild tea tree drifted into a pot of boiling water of the Chinese Emperor Shen Nong. Tea was initially used for medicinal purposes, and only gradually gained popularity as a drink.  The Ch’a Ching, or Classic of Tea treatise, written by a Buddhist monk in 733 AD, was a spiritual description of the types, uses, and methods of preparing tea. Tea was introduced to Japan by a Buddhist monk on the early 9^th century, but did not arrive in the West until the 16^th century.  By the early 18^th century, the British East India Company had established trading stations in Bombay, Bengal, and Madras. In the 19^th century, the Company developed tea estates in Assam and Darjeeling.