Two simple incidents made such a huge impact on humanity that after so many centuries, we can still feel them.
The most popular incident of the two – An apple fell from a tree and Sir Isaac Newton discovered THE THEORY OF GRAVITY. And the other – not so popular incident – a few leaves from nearby bushes flew into his pot of boiling water and Chinese emperor Shen Nung discovered a new BEVERAGE CALLED TEA!
Even today, we calculate the force of gravity to execute complex engineering tasks. And every day, with the help of a cup of Chai, millions of people elevate their moods and feel refreshed.
Since the times of Shen Nung, our beloved Chai has been through a breathtaking 5000 years long journey.
During the fourth century, the Tsang dynasty established and expanded the tea industry in areas covering the interior of Southern China to the border of today’s Assam. There were many indigenous tea species growing in the wild and small tea gardens were also being cultivated in India during the 1780s. The indigenous tea plants in Assam were discovered in 1788 by Sir Joseph Bank, in Coochbehar of Bengal.
It is believed that in the year 1606, the first consignment of tea reached the trading base of Dutch merchants at Benton. This was the first time that the western world experienced the magic of Chai.
In India, the large-scale production of tea began after the 1820s when the British East India Company established tea gardens in Assam. After that, the tea industry expanded rapidly to other parts of India and Sri Lanka, wherever the geographical & climatic conditions were favorable.
Today, tea is cultivated in about 16 Indian states, and 96% of the total tea production in India is done in 4 states – Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
It is so amazing how centuries of hard work in the tea gardens and in the global markets – created an ecosystem that made CHAI the world’s most consumed drink, after water.