There is much that tea can tell us. Some estimates suggest the earliest physical evidence of tea dates back to around 1000 BCE, to the Song Dynasty in China, and that early teas existed for a variety of reasons, including consumption, as a unit of trade, and as a religious offering. The Camellia sinensis plant was domesticated, and its delicate leaves were dried and then soaked in hot water. Today, there are more than twelve species of Camellia and thousands of subtypes, and we enjoy easy access to innumerable flavours and blends.
There has always been a kind of magic to tea: in Victorian England, it became popular to use the patterns of loose tea leaves in a cup to read the future. And, while people around the world enjoy the simple combination of boiled water and flavourful leaves (among countless permutations), tea rituals elevate the process to an art form.
