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The Chinese have consumed tea for thousands of years. People of the Han Dynasty used tea as medicine (though the first use of tea as a stimulant is unknown). China is considered to have the earliest records of tea consumption,[1][33] with records dating back to the 10th century BC.[1]
Laozi (ca. 600-517 BC), the classical Chinese philosopher, described tea as “the froth of the liquid jade” and named it an indispensable ingredient to the elixir of life. Legend has it that master Lao was saddened by society’s moral decay and, sensing that the end of the dynasty was near, he journeyed westward to the unsettled territories, never to be seen again. While passing along the nation’s border, he encountered and was offered tea by a customs inspector named Yin Hsi. Yin Hsi encouraged him to compile his teachings into a single book so that future generations might benefit from his wisdom. This then became known as the Dao De Jing, a collection of Laozi’s sayings.
In 59 BC, Wang Bao wrote the first known book with instructions on buying and preparing tea.
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Tea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods. “Tea” also refers to the aromatic beverage prepared from the cured leaves by combination with hot or boiling water,[2] and is the common name for the Camellia sinensis plant itself. Although tea contains various types of polyphenols, “contrary to widespread belief, tea does not contain tannic acid”.[3]
After water, tea is the most widely-consumed beverage in the world.[4] It has a cooling, slightly bitter, astringent flavour which many enjoy.[5]
There are at least six varieties of tea: white, yellow, green, oolong, black and pu-erh[6] of which the most commonly found on the market are white, green, oolong and black.[7] All teas are made from the same species of plant, though different varieties may be used, and the leaves are processed differently, and, in the case of fine white tea, grown differently. Pu-erh tea, a post-fermented tea, is also often used medicinally.[6]
The term “herbal tea” usually refers to an infusion or tisane of leaves, flowers, fruit, herbs or other plant material that contains no Camellia sinensis.[8] The term “red tea” refers to an infusion made from either black tea (mainly in Chinese, Korean, Japanese and other East Asian languages) or the South African rooibos plant (containing no Camellia sinensis).