Rows of tea growing in Japan, with Mount Fuji in the background.
© Craig Hansen/Shutterstock.com
According to Chinese legend, tea was first used during the reign of Emperor Shen Nung in about 2737 bc. It is probable that tea was first cultivated in China, though it is possible that peoples in Thailand and Myanmar (formerly Burma) have used it for as long as the Chinese have. The China tea plant was taken to Japan in about ad 800, where it was regarded as a medicine for several hundred years, until green tea was developed to become a popular beverage.
Tea was introduced into England in about 1660 and to the rest of Europe soon thereafter. In England the tea was a gift from the British East India Company. The company eventually gained a monopoly on trade with India and the Far East (see East India Company). It therefore controlled shipments of tea from China through its base in Canton.
But in 1833 the company lost its legal monopoly and began searching for other sources of supply. The growing of tea began in India in 1834 with the planting of wild tea found in Assam.
By the end of the 19th century, China still supplied the bulk of the world’s tea. In 1886 it exported 300 million pounds (136 million kilograms), of which 170 million pounds (77 million kilograms) went to Great Britain. In that year India produced 90 million pounds (40 million kilograms), but within a few years it had moved ahead of China in world trade. Ceylon emerged as a tea producer in 1867 and Java (now part of Indonesia) in 1878.
Tea is now produced in about 30 countries. Today India is the chief exporter, followed by China, Caucasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia), Africa, Sri Lanka, Japan, Indonesia, South America, Bangladesh, Taiwan, and Malaysia.
The British Isles are still the largest importers of tea. The United States, despite its large population of coffee drinkers, ranks second. Other Commonwealth countries—such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand—also import large amounts.
Information taken from:
"tea." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2014. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/275434#203756.toc>.