Due to the high value of tea in many parts of Asia, tea bricks were used as a form of currency throughout China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Central Asia. This is quite similar to the use of salt bricks as currency in parts of Africa.
Tea leaves were used primarily as a medicine and secondly as a pleasurable drink. Tea took over 3000 years to become a popular drink throughout the Chinese empire. During the Tang Dynasty (600-900 AD), the popularity of tea was recognized by the imposition of a tax.
The Portuguese, Dutch and British were the first to export tea out of China and Japan by sea, but its extortionate cost – tea was once worth more than gold – made tea-drinking a luxury to be enjoyed only by the wealthiest members of society.
Such non-Han peoples as the Mongols and Tibetans had developed a taste for tea, making it the major Chinese barter item in the government's need to acquire horses. There was apparently a lot of corruption in this trade, and so the emperor's ban on the production of compressed tea bricks in favor of the "less currency- ...
AN ASIAN INNOVATION. In China, tea's popularity grew rapidly from the 4th through the 8th century, evolving from a medicinal agent to an everyday refreshment. As tea plantations spread throughout China, tea leaves became expensive commodities, and tea merchants entered the wealthy elite.
Tea defined respectability and domestic rituals, supported the rise of the British Empire, and contributed to the rise of the Industrial Revolution by supplying both the capital for factories and calories for labourers.
The tea was worth well over $1,000,000 today. The Boston Tea Party inspired other similar actions. Protests occurred in Edenton, North Carolina and Yorktown, Virginia. News of the destruction of the tea caused outrage in England.
Break off a piece and steep like any loose leaf tea. Preparing your survival bunker? These bricks will last about 20yrs. During the historic "Boston Tea Party" in the USA, it's highly likely that much of the tea dumped overboard was in the form of these bricks.
The story of tea begins in China. According to legend, in 2737 BC, the Chinese emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water, when some leaves from the tree blew into the water.
Even though Matcha originated in China, its production had become expensive and complicated by the 14th century, leading to a ban on the production of compressed tea in China.
Tea cost 3 to 4 shillings per pound in the 1770s. (Prices varied a bit each year.) In Britain's confusing 18th-century currency system — golden guineas, pounds sterling, shillings, pence, and farthings — one shilling equaled twelve pence.
Yellow tea is the rarest category of tea in the world. It is micro-fermented, with an extraordinarily unique making process. The tea is allowed to ferment a little before being completely dried and the enzymes "killed." This step produces a rare category of tea that is similar to green but usually more mellow.
But once sugar – then a rare commodity for just the mega-wealthy – was the most important crop in the world. It was worth more than gold and was the oil of its day. 'White gold' they called it in Sugar City – St Kitts's nickname back in 1640 when tobacco and rainforests were cleared to make way for sugar cane plants.
Before the British East India Company turned its thoughts to tea, Englishmen drank mostly coffee. Within fifty years of the opening of the first coffee house in England, there were two thousand coffee houses in the City of London, alone!
Brits have been drinking tea for over 350 years, but the drink has been around a lot longer, and its origins are far from the British Isles. Legend has it that in 2737BC, Chinese Emperor and renowned herbalist Shen Nung was sitting under a tree while his servant was boiling drinking water.
Tea bricks were a valuable trade commodity, as they were easy to transport and had a long shelf life. Traders and travelers alike appreciated the compact nature of tea bricks, which made them ideal for long journeys. In Central Asia, tea bricks were highly valued and often used as a form of currency.
However, tea, especially green tea, contains a unique set of antioxidants known as catechins, which have been linked to numerous health benefits, including improved heart health and reduced cancer risk. While coffee also boasts a high antioxidant content, tea's specific compounds offer a distinct edge.
American tea culture encompasses the methods of preparation and means of consumption of tea within the context of the culture of the United States. About 85% of the tea consumed in the United States is served cold, usually as iced tea.
The Aztecs in particular revered the drink - they gave it to victorious warriors after battle, would use it during religious rituals, and even used cacao beans as currency. To them, cacao beans were more valuable than gold. Next time someone says money doesn't grow on trees, you'll know what to tell them.
Sugar has been a part of people's diet for thousands of years, ever since the indigenous New Guineans domesticated the sugar cane in 8000 B.C. It's only in modern times however that sugar, or “white gold” as medieval Europeans called it, has become ubiquitous in our diets.
By the 18th century all levels of society had become common consumers of the former luxury product. At first most sugar in Britain went into tea, but later confectionery and chocolates became extremely popular.
