When creating and/or mentioning tea in Burma, or any other nation for that matter, it is unavoidable to leave on the trip into the realm of tea in China – in south-west China to be exact – for that is as I will describe in the following definitely where tea is initially coming from.

The discussion on whether or not the background of Burmese tea and also the alcohol consumption of tea in Burma have come from China has possibly more to do with a minimum of some Bamars’/ Burmans’ reluctance to admit that the origin of tea is China which the drinking of tea was embraced by them later from the Shan, than with tea, tea alcohol consumption and also tea society itself. The truths are that tea both as plant and also drink was uncovered and had actually come to be integral part of Chinese as well as later Shan culture already each time when no Bamar/Burman had ever established foot right into what is nowadays Burma (considering that 1989 additionally called Myanmar).

Simply put the first kingdom of the Bamar the ‘kingdom of Pagan’ (that was actually founded by the Pyu, and also while we go to it, Anawrahta, the 42nd king of Pagan who is by the Bamar/Burman took into consideration the creator of the 1st Burman kingdom was a Pyu, not a Bamar/Burman) did back then not exist what is currently the certain answer to the question of the beginning of tea, tea drinking and tea society in Burma; Burma or any kind of predecessor of it merely didn’t exist in or during the period in question, duration. Yet why exist still individuals (not a lot of them, though) who when faced with all facts as well as logic claim that Burmese tea, tea alcohol consumption as well as tea society are not originated in China? Short answer: Since the area that was in pre-Bamar time lived in by the Shan is currently laying partly within the far north east of Burma. Nonetheless, that these areas are nowadays located within Burma’s limits does not necessarily mean that the exact area in which Camellia sinensis was at first located and also from where it after that spread to India, through all of south-east Asia and also, ultimately, throughout the world lies within north-east Burma. It is possible yet it is also feasible that Camellia sinensis – converted from Latin right into English the name means ‘Tea blossom’ (camellia) ‘from China’ (sinensis) – contends a later time expanded right into the location now covered by the north-eastern part of Burma.

The book of tea is a publication with many pages and also chapters starting shrouded in the mist of misconception and also legend some time back in 3000 BC. There is also the concrete day 2725 BC mentioned what is connecting the (unintentional) exploration and also the later alcohol consumption of tea to the Chinese emperor Shen Nung regarding who I will inform you a lot Fe-acc18 more a little bit later. No one truly knows when it was that the alcohol consumption of tea (what back then was always green tea because it was unfermented additionally called unoxidised) began to become part of Chinese society. That is why it can not be within the scope of this post to (as interesting as this might be) deal with related misconceptions, legends and also folklore in order to disclose tea history’s secret of when and where this was and also just how it occurred. The response to this inquiry will certainly never ever be discovered anyhow what suggests that it will certainly for always continue to be hidden behind the curtain of legend. Consequently we have to find facts in the form of composed records and also archaeological discovers that will certainly offer us tea relevant info we are searching for. And as for that is concerned we do not need to search for long.

We are offered the first trusted information in a Chinese encyclopaedia that was begun to be compiled and created during the Han Dynasty at some time around 325 BC and also additional broadened after that: its name is Erya additionally led to Erh-ya. The writer of the Erya is unknown yet it is amongst scholars approved that this have actually been adherents of Confucius. Here we find records letting us recognize that tea was already understood and drunken at least at the beginning of the Zhou Empire in 1046 BC, most likely previously. However, it is not defined whether it was tea made from camellia sinensis leaves and also drunken for enjoyment or some herbal probably not very delicious tea inebriated for clinical objectives only.

From later documents we know that developing and drinking tea was currently part of the Chinese people’s day-to-day life at the start of the Han Empire in 206 B.C. or even previously. That the drinking of tea has so relatively quick permeated the Chinese culture would definitely not have been possible without Buddhist monks. It was the Buddhist monk orders that have not just spread the drinking of tea amongst the population but that had actually also taken over the growing and also handling of tea. Not long after tea as drink had been introduced throughout the Han Dynasty, Buddhism was related to tea. The Buddhist monks have actually very early recognised that tea was an affordable as well as rejuvenating drink with taste as well as scent that maintained them awake.

From the by Lu Yu throughout the Tang Empire written and also at about 760 advertisement released book ‘The Standard of Tea’ (Cha Jing in Chinese) we can take that eco-friendly tea was understood and drunken throughout all of China for pleasure from 618 ADVERTISEMENT, or earlier on. For Lu Yu tea was the icon of consistency and strange unity of the Universe from which we can see exactly how extremely he thought of tea.

A sensational exploration would (at the time of this writing in 2016) 1255 years later on prove Lu Yun wrong in up until now as eco-friendly tea was already a prominent drink in south and also west China earlier than 141 BC. The a.m. thrilling exploration was that it was confirmed that leaves discovered in the tomb of the 6th Emperor of the western Han Dynasty, Emperor Jin of Han (Liu Qi), where actual (Camellia sinensis) tea leaves that were given him together with thousands of clay soldiers as well as lots of other things as major good for the trip right into his immortality. To stay clear of complication, the emperor’s burial place was already found in the 1990s throughout roadway building and construction job, which by itself (not the road construction however the discovery of the Emperor’s burial place) was a globe experience. Nevertheless, with respect to the components of this post the searching for of the tea leaves was even more marvelous since these tea leaves are the most old and finest tea leaves ever before found what has actually earned them an entry in the Guinness Book of Globe Records as ‘The world’s earliest tea leaves’.

Similar to numerous various other things the start of alcohol consumption tea is soaked in legend. There are various stories about how the very first chapter of the book of tea starts as well as having actually read them I have concerned the verdict that 99.99 percent of them belong into the world of tales. One of one of the most popular Chinese legends is the with wonderful pleasure over and over informed legend about an emperor’s pot of warm water that occurred to be placed precisely under a tea tree where tea leaves were certain to drop into the pot. Normally, oh wonder (just how can it be any type of different) tea leaves fell into the pot with boiling water whereupon the emperor took out of interest a sip of the formerly unknown currently slightly yellowish-brown coloured water. He was, as the legend goes, so excited about the fragrance and taste that after that he made tea his preferred drink and also the alcohol consumption of tea became part of Chinese society. The emperor in this legend is the mythological emperor Shen Nung also spelled Shannong, Shen Nong that is by the Chinese venerated as the ‘Divine Farmer’ as well as the ‘Father of Chinese Herbal Medication’. He was what is nowadays called ‘pharmacologist’, as well as it is thought that he has actually ‘lived’ 140 years, from 2838 BC to 2698 BC. This is no doubt all pure tale yet its beginning may be seen against the backdrop of the reality that Shen Nung was herbalist and that tea went to the start used as organic medicine in both solid (as veggie or salad) and/or fluid type (as tea).

What is tea and also where is it come from? Quickly placed, tea is a beverage generally including water as well as natural (uncured) and treated tea leaves of the varieties camellia sinensis. This is, as previously said, an evergreen bush native to Asia that can when it remains untouched grow in the wilderness into a tree with an elevation of some 55 ft/ 17 m. By the way, why do we call tea, tea? Let me quickly clarify where the name ‘tea’ come from as well as where it spread around the globe. The name ‘tea’ has its beginning in China where 2 names are made use of for the very same beverage. It is called ‘Cha’ in Chinese language as well as ‘Tay’ in Xiamenese dialect. In 1644 the British developed a trading post in Xiamen and anglicised the Xiamenese ‘tay’ what, ultimately, ended up being ‘tea’ a name that in the following time quickly spread through as well as was approved by the English talking world.

Where specifically is Camellia sinensis originated? As amazing as it appears and whatever we may consider it, considerable and also in-depth research has resulted in the outcome that this tea plant – the Camellia sinensis – was not a plant that had or can have developed as well as expanded individually in numerous parts of the globe but astonishingly enough only within a reasonably tiny area located in and also restricted to an area that does consist of parts of what is nowadays the Shan state (as north as well as north-eastern part of the at that time not existing Burma) and also the Chinese provinces Yunnan and also Sichuan.

However whether ‘Burmese’ tea has its origin in China (what it has) or otherwise, or whether the drinking of tea became part of the Burman’s society only after it was introduced to them by the Shan (what it was) or whether the well-known ‘Burmese milk tea is really Indian tea presented by the Indian – and NOT British – people throughout British colonial times (what it was as well as is) does actually not matter much – if anything – since the reality continues to be that ‘tea’ has over time (trough all the Bamar/Burman kingdoms, the British colonial times and also the past-independence time) became an integral part of the supposed ‘Burmese drink and also food culture’ what it continues to be to be to now and will constantly be wherewith I have actually now ‘beamed’ us from the ancient past into the present.

Before our arrival at one of the many Burmese tea shops in Yangon – no joke, they are essentially at every edge, what is true for every area with more than two houses in all of Burma – to enjoy a cup or 2 of the renowned ‘Burmese Milk Tea’ and one of the tasty Burmese tea leave salads called ‘Lahpet Thoke’ at the end of this short article let us start at the start, by briefly responding to questions such as, where tea is growing within the limits of contemporary Burma, what kind of tea it is, how it is refined after being plugged, of what quality Burmese tea is contrasted to the qualities of e.g. China, India as well as various other Oriental nations, and so forth.