Believe it or not, the origin of green tea can be traced back to 5000 years ago in China.
An herbalist, whose “study” has become the foundation of today’s Chinese Medicine, travelled across the land and sampled countless wild grass and leaves to study their effectiveness on human body. He was often poisoned and ate green tea leaves as antidotes for those poisons.
Interesting, huh? I find this story very amusing because it really depicts the nature of green tea. Today we drink green tea as a beverage because we love the flavor and we know it’s good for our health. But this story tells us more than we thought we know.
It is said that green tea was introduced to Japan in the 7th century. Tea culture flourished as drinking tea was embraced by the samurai class and became their noble hobby. A whole sub-culture of teapots, tea cups, art and manner developed. After the war, green tea industry supported Japan’s economy by exporting overseas. Japan’s history is inseparably-tied to green tea.
Today in the states, green tea has been increasingly popular as it receives growing attention. Just like sushi and tofu have been adopted into their diet, there’s no doubt that green tea will be commonly enjoyed in their everyday life. Tea culture of the next millennium may be taking root in the United States. Who knows?
