The history of tea - Shunan Teng
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0:07 - 0:11During a long day spent roaming the forest
in search of edible grains and herbs, -
0:11 - 0:17the weary divine farmer Shennong
accidentally poisoned himself 72 times. -
0:17 - 0:19But before the poisons could end his life,
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0:19 - 0:22a leaf drifted into his mouth.
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0:22 - 0:24He chewed on it and it revived him,
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0:24 - 0:27and that is how we discovered tea.
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0:27 - 0:30Or so an ancient legend goes at least.
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0:30 - 0:31Tea doesn't actually cure poisonings,
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0:31 - 0:33but the story of Shennong,
-
0:33 - 0:36the mythical Chinese inventor
of agriculture, -
0:36 - 0:39highlights tea's importance
to ancient China. -
0:39 - 0:42Archaeological evidence suggests tea
was first cultivated there -
0:42 - 0:44as early as 6,000 years ago,
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0:44 - 0:49or 1,500 years before the pharaohs built
the Great Pyramids of Giza. -
0:49 - 0:50That original Chinese tea plant
-
0:50 - 0:53is the same type that's grown
around the world today, -
0:53 - 0:56yet it was originally consumed
very differently. -
0:56 - 0:59It was eaten as a vegetable
or cooked with grain porridge. -
0:59 - 1:03Tea only shifted from food
to drink 1,500 years ago -
1:03 - 1:06when people realized that a combination
of heat and moisture -
1:06 - 1:11could create a complex and varied taste
out of the leafy green. -
1:11 - 1:14After hundreds of years of variations
to the preparation method, -
1:14 - 1:16the standard became to heat tea,
-
1:16 - 1:18pack it into portable cakes,
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1:18 - 1:20grind it into powder,
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1:20 - 1:21mix with hot water,
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1:21 - 1:26and create a beverage
called muo cha, or matcha. -
1:26 - 1:30Matcha became so popular that a distinct
Chinese tea culture emerged. -
1:30 - 1:32Tea was the subject of books and poetry,
-
1:32 - 1:34the favorite drink of emperors,
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1:34 - 1:36and a medium for artists.
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1:36 - 1:39They would draw extravagant pictures
in the foam of the tea, -
1:39 - 1:43very much like the espresso art
you might see in coffee shops today. -
1:43 - 1:45In the 9th century
during the Tang Dynasty, -
1:45 - 1:49a Japanese monk brought the first
tea plant to Japan. -
1:49 - 1:53The Japanese eventually developed
their own unique rituals around tea, -
1:53 - 1:56leading to the creation
of the Japanese tea ceremony. -
1:56 - 1:59And in the 14th century
during the Ming Dynasty, -
1:59 - 2:01the Chinese emperor
shifted the standard -
2:01 - 2:05from tea pressed into cakes
to loose leaf tea. -
2:05 - 2:09At that point, China still held a
virtual monopoly on the world's tea trees, -
2:09 - 2:12making tea one of three
essential Chinese export goods, -
2:12 - 2:15along with porcelain and silk.
-
2:15 - 2:18This gave China a great deal of power
and economic influence -
2:18 - 2:21as tea drinking spread around the world.
-
2:21 - 2:24That spread began in earnest
around the early 1600s -
2:24 - 2:27when Dutch traders brought tea to Europe
in large quantities. -
2:27 - 2:31Many credit Queen Catherine of Braganza,
a Portuguese noble woman, -
2:31 - 2:34for making tea popular with
the English aristocracy -
2:34 - 2:38when she married King Charles II in 1661.
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2:38 - 2:42At the time, Great Britain was in the
midst of expanding its colonial influence -
2:42 - 2:45and becoming the new dominant world power.
-
2:45 - 2:49And as Great Britain grew,
interest in tea spread around the world. -
2:49 - 2:53By 1700, tea in Europe sold for ten times
the price of coffee -
2:53 - 2:56and the plant was still
only grown in China. -
2:56 - 2:58The tea trade was so lucrative
-
2:58 - 3:01that the world's fastest sailboat,
the clipper ship, -
3:01 - 3:05was born out of intense competition
between Western trading companies. -
3:05 - 3:07All were racing to bring their tea
back to Europe first -
3:07 - 3:10to maximize their profits.
-
3:10 - 3:14At first, Britain paid
for all this Chinese tea with silver. -
3:14 - 3:15When that proved too expensive,
-
3:15 - 3:20they suggested trading tea
for another substance, opium. -
3:20 - 3:22This triggered a public health problem
within China -
3:22 - 3:25as people became addicted to the drug.
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3:25 - 3:28Then in 1839, a Chinese official
ordered his men -
3:28 - 3:31to destroy massive
British shipments of opium -
3:31 - 3:34as a statement against
Britain's influence over China. -
3:34 - 3:38This act triggered the First Opium War
between the two nations. -
3:38 - 3:41Fighting raged up and down
the Chinese coast until 1842 -
3:41 - 3:45when the defeated Qing Dynasty ceded
the port of Hong Kong to the British -
3:45 - 3:48and resumed trading on unfavorable terms.
-
3:48 - 3:52The war weakened China's global standing
for over a century. -
3:52 - 3:57The British East India company also
wanted to be able to grow tea themselves -
3:57 - 3:59and further control the market.
-
3:59 - 4:01So they commissioned
botanist Robert Fortune -
4:01 - 4:05to steal tea from China
in a covert operation. -
4:05 - 4:07He disguised himself
and took a perilous journey -
4:07 - 4:09through China's mountainous tea regions,
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4:09 - 4:12eventually smuggling tea trees
and experienced tea workers -
4:12 - 4:15into Darjeeling, India.
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4:15 - 4:17From there,
the plant spread further still, -
4:17 - 4:21helping drive tea's rapid growth
as an everyday commodity. -
4:21 - 4:26Today, tea is the second most consumed
beverage in the world after water, -
4:26 - 4:27and from sugary Turkish Rize tea,
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4:27 - 4:29to salty Tibetan butter tea,
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4:29 - 4:32there are almost as many ways
of preparing the beverage -
4:32 - 4:34as there are cultures on the globe.
- Title:
- The history of tea - Shunan Teng
- Speaker:
- Shunan Teng
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-history-of-tea-shunan-teng
Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water –– and from sugary Turkish Rize tea to salty Tibetan butter tea, there are almost as many ways of preparing the beverage as there are cultures on the globe. Where did this beverage originate, and how did it become so popular? Shunan Teng details tea’s long history.
Lesson by Shunan Teng, animation by Steff Lee.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:58
Jessica Ruby approved English subtitles for The history of Tea | ||
Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for The history of Tea | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The history of Tea | ||
Jennifer Cody edited English subtitles for The history of Tea |