Top 10 Tea Facts That'll Blow Your Mind!

Hello hello!

Over the past decade, I've learned a LOT about tea. When starting out, I didn't know anything about tea outside of making Texas sweet tea. When learning that there's a universe of tea outside of a cup of sugar per gallon of sun-brewed tea, I came across many fascinating things that I never knew about tea.

For my blog turning 10, I'll share with you my top 10 favorite tea facts that I've learned along the way!

Let's dive in!!

1. Matcha tea originated in China. It wasn't introduced into Japan until the 12th century, when matcha tea was brought to Japan in the year 1191, and originated from the Song Dynasty. It was initially consumed by Zen Buddhist monks and the nobility, but its use became more widespread over centuries due to its role in ceremonies and its health benefits.

   
   

2. Afternoon tea originated from Catherine of Braganza in the mid-1600s. Catherine of Braganza was from Portugal and married King Charles of England, and brought tea to England with her. She threw parties and served tea with finger foods, and due to her popularity, commoners copied her. This became what we know as 'afternoon tea' today!

   
   

3. The world's largest heist, and the world's largest act of espionage, was tea! Also known as The Great British Tea Heist, an English tradesman Robert Fortune worked as an undercover spy and travelled to China in the mid-1800s to learn the tea trade. Over the course of several years, he collected thousands of tea seeds and tea plants, and smuggled them back to British-controlled India. Before this point, China was the only country in the world that produced tea and kept the production of tea so secret that no one else could replicate it. Before, many considered tea as one of the natural wonders of the world.

   
   

4. White tea has caffeine. Surprisingly, I've seen many people over the past decade claim that white tea has no caffeine content. However, white tea can have as much tea as any other tea type.

   
   

5. Matcha isn’t the only tea powder out there. Tea powder can be made from all types of tea! Lately, 'tea powders' are increasing in popularity.

   
   

6. Iced tea was popularised in St Louis, Missouri. Although iced tea wasn't a new idea, and goes back to the 1800s. However, it became popular when food vendor Richard Blechynden served it at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. The weather was so hot that he threw a vat of ice into his tea and started selling it cold.

   
   

7. The longest consecutive high tea in America is from Wenham Tea House in Wenham, MA, founded in 1912. The second-longest consecutive high tea in America is the Brown Palace High Tea in Denver, Colorado and began service in 1915.

   
   

8. The popularity of the 'tea bag' was an accident. Around 1908, New York City tea merchant Thomas Sullivan would deliver tea samples in small mesh bags. However, to his surprise, customers were putting the entire bag into their mugs -- which gave birth to the innovative idea.

   
   

9. Herbal tea is not tea; it’s called a ‘tisane’. It can only be classified as tea if it has Camellia Senses leaves.

10. Puer tea was illegal in the US for 99 years until the Tea Importation Act of 1897 was abolished in April of 1996. It was originally enacted to help prevent the importation of tea that contained fluoride, heavy metals, oxalate, and pesticides. However, the need for the act quickly faded when the United States enacted the FDA, Food and Drug Administration in 1938. The Board of Tea Appeals was a United States federal agency under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration. From its establishment in 1897 until its abolishment in 1996, it adjudicated the claims of tea importers whose products were denied entry into the United States by federal tea-tasters.

~

What is YOUR favoriet fun fact about tea? Continue the conversation HERE on instagram!!

~ Cody

aka The Oolong Drunk

"Blissfully Tea Drunk"