The ways of Tea: from the three Chinese dynasties to its arrival in Europe

Over the centuries, the way of preparing and drinking Tea has changed considerably: from an energy soup to a refreshing and clear infusion, to becoming a means of achieving inner peace and mental and physical balance.

TANG Dynasty (Boiled Tea)

During the Tang Dynasty (618-960), Tea had its first golden age: these were the years when Lu Yu, one of the most important figures who marked the history of Tea, wrote the famous Cha Jing, better known as The Tea Canon, a reference manual for every Tea scholar and full of valuable advice on tasting. At that time, Tea was compressed into well-defined shapes, decorated with inscriptions and symbols, thus becoming currency in which the design represented The Country of Origin and, therefore, its value. The compressed Tea was, then, crumbled and boiled for several minutes often with added spices, salt and onions.

SONG Dynasty (Matcha)

During the Song era (960-1279), Tea changed in appearance, and it was then that Japanese monks, returning from their study-trip to China, brought back the tradition of drinking powdered Tea (Matcha, meaning precisely Powdered Tea) whisked with the typical bamboo whisk (Chasen) in a large cup. Many of the rituals of the Cha No Yu (Tea Ceremony) still performed in Japan today originate from this elegant period. Tea became a precious gift that underscored life’s important rituals, and while in the Tang period only monks and literati appreciated its fine and gestural characters, in the Song period sumptuous banquets were held in imperial palaces. In those years drinking Tea also served to forget the problems of daily life in a period somewhat complicated by the arrival, from the north, of barbarians.

MING Dynasty (Infused Tea)

During the Ming Dynasty (1386-1644) Tea, as we understand it even today, became a drink in which the infused leaves, once softened, were removed to leave room for tasting the resulting liquor. This was the era when all social classes opened up to this fascinating ritual.

The Conquest of Europe

After having been used for centuries mainly for its miraculous therapeutic properties by Chinese emperors, samurai and Tibetan monks, Tea and its virtues were finally discovered in the 1600s by Europe as well: the Portuguese are credited with importing the Tea leaf, but it was the Dutch who spread its value.

Although Tea is today the most widely consumed beverage in the world, after water, over the centuries it has always found a privileged place at imperial courts, becoming a refined beverage of timeless luxury, but also the object of smuggling, unorthodox blends prepared from plants such as sage or recycling of already infused leaves and industrial espionage.

In England Tea, because of its high price due to very high taxes, remained for a long time an exclusive ritual of the aristocracy. It was after 1650 that it became popular, when it began to be served as an alternative to coffee and chocolate. It was normally a custom reserved for men, but King Charles II’s wife, Catherine of Braganza, decided to introduce the custom at court, thus introducing women to the pleasure of Tea as well.

In France, Tea came later, under Louis XVI, on the advice of Cardinal Mazarin, while Germany, which had founded the Royal Tea Company in 1640, began drinking it only in the 19th century. In Russia, Tea was introduced as early as the court of Michael III, this was in 1638, and it immediately became a popular drink among the Tsars and aristocrats.

When in 1784 the British government decided to abolish taxes on Tea, and the price began to fall, the drink became accessible to all classes.

Tea became, thus, the national drink and London the trade capital of the world.