| China,
the Homeland of Tea Of the three major beverages of the world--
tea, coffee and cocoa-- tea is consumed by the largest number of
people. Chinese tea is a beverage, Chinese tea is a pass time, Chinese
tea is a culture. Whatever you think Chinese tea is, Chinese tea
is a life time of enjoyment. If you are new to Chinese tea, this
site contains interesting Chinese tea knowledge that would get you
started. Waste no time, let do Chinese tea!
 China
is the homeland of tea. It is believed that China has tea-shrubs
as early as five to six thousand years ago, and human cultivation
of teaplants dates back two thousand years. Tea from China, along
with her silk and porcelain, began to be known the world over
more than a thousand years ago and has since always been an important
Chinese export. At present more than forty countries in the world
grow tea with Asian countries producing 90% of the world's total
output. All tea trees in other countries have their origin directly
or indirectly in China. The word for tea leaves or tea as a drink
in many countries are derivatives from the Chinese character "cha."
The Russians call it "cha'i", which sounds like "chaye"
(tea leaves) as it is pronounced in northern China, and the English
word "tea" sounds similar to the pronunciation of its
counterpart in Xiamen (Amoy). The Japanese character for tea is
written exactly the same as it is in Chinese, though pronounced
with a slight difference. The habit of tea drinking spread to
Japan in the 6th century, but it was not introduced to Europe
and America till the 17th and 18th centuries. Now the number of
tea drinkers in the world is legion and is still on the increase.
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