Tea has played a role in almost all cultures and customs. There are several stories woven around the origins of the Tea Plant.
Here we narrate a few ....
Legend ascribes the creation of the tea plant to Daruma or Bodhidharma ------ the founder of Zen Buddhism. Centuries ago, while meditating near Nanking, in China, the saint fell asleep. On waking up, he was so angry with himself for falling asleep that he cut off his eyelids. Where the eyelids dropped to earth, a strange plant came up. Its leaves were found to give a brew that could banish sleep. And so the tea plant was born and the tea beverage came into being.
Another version of the Chinese legend.... Shen Nung,
an early emperor was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron of
the arts. His far-sighted edicts required, among other things, that all
drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One summer day while
visiting a distant region of his realm, he and the court stopped to rest.
In accordance with his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the
court to drink. Dried leaves from the near by bush fell into the boiling
water, and a brown liquid was infused into the water. As a scientist,
the Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it
very refreshing. And so tea was created. ..........
