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 Tea History

We take the history and origins of our products very seriously. We recognise the tea heritage of cultivating tea, and ensure each Charbrew is developed with the knowledge of thousands of years of experience & collaboration.

Teas origins are said to have began in China over 4000 years ago, legend has it that was first discovered by the Chinese emperor Shen Nung around 2737BC.

The first historical writings of the tea bush and tea gardens locate teas origins specifically to the Yunnan province of China. From its birthplace tea has spread far and wide.

The first western importers of Tea were the Portuguese and the Dutch around 1610. In 1658 the first public sale of Dutch- traded Chinese tea began in London at Garraways's Coffee House. It was not until Charles II married Princess Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess and an avid tea drinker, the traditional ritual of afternoon tea became extremely popular between English ladies.

The English helped grow their newly found ritual through setting up trading stations in India.

India would later, under the hand of the English, become the largest and most powerful tea-producing country in the world. One company the "English East India Company" is undoubtedly a reputable contributor to the famous UK drink having expanded India's tea growing cultivation and making it the industry it is today.

Charbrew aims to be a new revolution to the UK tea market by first of all bringing back the appreciation for specialist teas but also by introducing a unique range of quality teas to the pallet of the UK.

There is much more to be said about the history of tea and some recommended readings for the history of tea are :-

The UK Tea Council website
http://www.tea.co.uk/history-of-tea

The Story of Tea
A cultural history and drinking Guide By Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J Heiss

The True History of Tea
By Victor Mair and Erling Hoh