Tea's Ancient Beginnings in China | The Tea History Podcast | Ep. 1

[@MarkBalahadiaOfficial]

Correction: there’s technically two species used for tea making: Camellia sinensis and the less common Camellia taliensis, a closely related species used in making high quality pu’er, white and black tea in Yunnan. The species name, taliensis, is in reference to it’s common name 大理茶 (tálìchá), which is reference to Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture.

[@dr.s.p.]

What a lovely presentation and the commentary was easy on the ears and the Chinese names and descriptions was perfect in pronunciation and tone. Thumbs up!

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

So kind of you to say so. My deepest thanks.

[@MadHatter42]

The story of Shennong personally taste-testing hundreds of plants to see which were poisonous and which weren’t is just so metal.

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Tell me about it!

[@justinisenberg1841]

Yeah, he was leveling up his alchemy skill. 😂

[@ChoicelessAwareness]

He wasn't a fully earthling human. According to scriptures, his body from neck down to the belly were all almost transparent. So anything that put in, people were able to see what's going on.

[@howardleekilby7390]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@TenzinT]

I saw a lot of tea documentaries on KZbin. This one is the best so far 🙂

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Thank you, Tenzin. I hope you enjoy some of the other content on this channel. 🙏

[@angelanluna]

wow. I know i love tea in my heart and now I know the why and listening to you will be s as soothing and satisfying as the cup of warm tea I drink with me. Thank you for this episode, and the time and effort brought to us. Happy tea time to you!

[@d00mch1ld]

Tea, the name is similar all across Asia. In Mandarin and Cantonese, it is called "Cha", in Hindi it is called "Chai". My own dialect, that is similar to Fujian it is "Da".

[@deanproquo]

I did my own research & enjoy the science behind it.

[@RichMitch]

This beverage has picked me up many a time, looking forward to hearing all about tea all over again!

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Mos def worth a 2nd listen.....

[@javiergonzalolascano4565]

Great story! In Portuguese, like in many other languages, remains the world cha.

[@mazinal-khafaji3146]

Brilliant research. Great presentation.

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Thank you, my friend. I appreciate that you listened.

[@magicmomo2498]

Hello Montgomery I LOVE ❤️ YOUR VIDEO!!!! Keep it up and congrats on making 10000 SUBSCRIBERS ❤️ 💕 💗

[@homeequityloan1746]

Awesome work! Listened to this with a friend on the way home from work.

[@joeguan9746]

Beautiful Channel I’m from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and I love China!!! Live your channe too

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Thanks so much. I'm hoping to visit Scotland one of these days.

[@joeguan9746]

@@ChinaHistoryPodcast 👍 👍 👍

[@colinellesmere]

Finally getting around to the tea episodes. Not before time as I live in the Golden Triangle area of China where the famous Puer Tea originates. Six famous tea mountains here. Five in Xishuangbanna one in Puer. Great mountains to walk in and cycle. Jinnuo, Nanuo, Bulang, Yiwu, Kongming and Jingmai which is in Puer. Names differ on the net but these are the locally used words. Oldest tea tree 1000 yeaes old. Most expensive tea currently. Laobanzhang at around 15000Yuan a kg or over 2000US dollars. A half decent Puer tea is around 100-150 a kg locally. Much more outside the area and much much more abroad. But 130US dollars for decent tea from trees at least 100 years old is worth it. Living locally however we never need to buy Pure tea. It's just given as presents in the age old traditional custom. There are certain aspects of Chinese mainstream modern society I would rather not interact with. But the tea culture is superb. Walk in a room of freshly dried tea leaves. One of the world's great fragrances.

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Oh man! You are living in the 茶叶天堂! How I wish I could snap my fingers and wake up there. If you find any 茶老板 who wish to sponsor this show, let me know. Then I can 86 all these nasty commercials! Stay well Colin! I hope you’re still there when I finally make it over.

[@colinellesmere]

我认识几个茶叶老板，most are small scale because the 姑茶场 ancient tea plots are never huge. But I have heard there are some bigger companies/老板 who have bought up a few old plots to make bugger concerns, and of course you have the small tea bush plantations. I can ask around as we do have a lot of tea contacts. The problem with 姑茶 for export is that the internal market is so big that few people, as they only have small plots, will take the trouble to go through all the red tape to get export licences. And your average Westerner has not yet got the acquired taste to be willing to pay what are perceived as high prices for tea. But if I was back in rthe Uk I would pay 200 dollars for decent 姑茶. Anyway I'll ask around but perhaps you can give me some idea of what sponsorship deal you can offer. In sure certain companies here would like to be affiliated to Tea cup media and could use it as an advertising tool and possibly a commercial outlet.

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

@@colinellesmere I'll email you....Gonna just make me a cup of pu-erh (gifted to me of course)

[@Error_-qz2zr]

hey really enjoyed your work

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

I hope you'll come back for more. Over 225 hours of stuff for you here. Thanks for checking my channel out.

[@Isomnophilia]

Reading into the recent history of tea and it's disheartening... so i decided to go further back in history and its actually deep. Liked and subscribed!

[@nelsongonzalez4533]

Cultivating your brains with a cup of herbal medicinal tea. A great enlightening plant.

[@emmahardesty4330]

Very nice, good information. Since the only persons named as the first to do anything in most of recorded history are men, it's only fair to remember that the first person to brew tea was a woman in the kitchen trying out some new plant she'd come across, in probably a very humble household.

[@vx8431]

China has the wildest legends when it comes to tea. First one that comes to mind after Shennong is the story of how Da Hong Pao came to be.

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Classic stories from the history of tea.

[@florian8020]

Keep the work up!

[@carlgranados7106]

You should mention teas of all kinds have been around for longer than the teas we drink everyday these days... which is really what this vid and history is about.

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Yes, absolutely right. The native people who lived where the original tea garden naturally grew knew of tea long before it was "discovered".

[@TheSanbao]

Thank you, drinking Oolongtea's from Taiwan since 19 years.

[@AdrianHepburn-vz9yr]

Coca leaf tea is freely sold in Peru and is a most pleasing beverage, stimulates as does tea, yet agrees with the stomach. It also comes in some areas with another local herb as a brew. Lastly, the Coca plant just might save your behind if you are rising to altitude rapidly or plan staying at such for a while. I fail to understand why the leaves of the Coca plant, cultivars aplenty, are not cultivated in preference to Tea, or at least in comparable quantities.

[@tinymetaltrees]

Aren't they? It surprises me that you do not know how popular it is in it's refined form! It is very notorious.

[@Simplinalina]

Mu favourite teas are: Ya bao, dianhong and gaba alishan.

[@alexrediger2099]

You're from the Wisconsin/Illinois area, I'm guessing. Nice podcast episode.

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

That's pure North Shore Chicagonese you're hearing. I hope you like the remainder of the series. Thanks, Alex for checking it out. My apologies if the intensity of the accent put you off. It's not for the squeamish.

[@nelsongonzalez4533]

Japan, India, China and Britain are very serious about tea 🍵 and honey 🍯

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

You could say that.

[@eastcoastsailingcenter7768]

Wow tea is hokkien

[@JesusRocksTryPrayin]

I'm sittin here thinkin about coffee the video mentions Cocoa, and I am brought to envy.. 'Hey, i don't have any cocoa and, it would go great in a coffee.. :( " but, phew. Tea is meh, so.. thisll pass. GREAT VIDEO :D Interesting!!

[@marcelolima77]

Interesting show! One comment, in Portuguese tea is 'cha', unlike in most of Europe (I think in Turkish it is also derived from cha).

[@Islamis4all]

In Hindko (Type of Punjabi) it is called Cha as well. Also in Urdu/Hindi it is called Chai. 👍

[@pleasedontlookforme8036]

It is also called chō in Pashto ( a language spoken in tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan)

[@victoriajade521]

In the southern part of China Guangzhou we’re the dialogue is Cantonese, tea is Cha.

[@christopher.2042]

what is that little intro song? sounds good

[@JesusRocksTryPrayin]

wow... there is a ton I had no idea about tea, and it's nice hearing a teacher who is passionate about what they study :D The narrator in this, reminds me of a 'world civ' professor I had. She studied byzantine history, and.. It felt like we were there, in class.. like, we were marching alongside Alexander, or.. We were hungarians in the crowd when Archduke Franzy had to go and get WW1 started with a bang.. rude joke, yikes..

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Thanks for checking it out. I was always meant to be a teacher but somehow I got sidetracked in the manufacturing in China business for 35 years.

[@khitahi8577]

Hi, could you tell me the sources of this history?

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Sorry, this was from too long ago and I don't keep track of these details. I suggest "The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide" by Mary Lou and Robert Heiss. "All about Tea" by William Ukers is old and outdated but has some good history inside.

[@khitahi8577]

Thanks

[@richardbennett4365]

There's a linguistic relationship between tea and cha/chai.

[@ThiNguyen-ud4bi]

Shennong, is/was Luòyuè (Lạc Việt) people ancestor

[@rolanrepolido5655]

In the beginning a man was boiling water when a dry leaves falls on it. A point in time or space when tea became a drink.

[@okwaleedpoetry]

western watcher here, can you put timelines into context more with what's happening around the world.

[@okwaleedpoetry]

btw *cringe* 11:20 this is not what I mean

[@JacobTsen-rh6rr]

I myself is Hakka and say cha and tea leaf as cha yap.

[@yolandaleticiariosyee6705]

Cómo ver tus videos con subtítulos en español.

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Voy a tratar de averiguar cómo hacer eso. Hay tantos nombres chinos. Los subtítulos a menudo no son tan buenos.

[@yolandaleticiariosyee6705]

@@ChinaHistoryPodcast muchas gracias por tu atención. Pero será de utilidad para mí. Lo que se pueda sé agradece. Bonita tarde. Hoy tendremos un homenaje a nuestros abuelos chinos que llegaron a México y a los descendientes vivos mayores de 75 años de edad. Organizado por varias Asociaciones Chinas en México.

[@philfluther2713]

1:16 Tea origin of 'down the hatch'. Heartily down. Heartily ho.

[@TinyTaskal]

Coincidentally the Java bush is called Cambodia 🇰🇭?? Heheh Java acquired from Cambodia probably since they have so much linked history

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Camellia sinensis var. Cambodi

[@sumamihardja6083]

Kemboja.

[@muttakikamal2437]

Hi this is Muttaki. I was m studying tea relations and I am curious to know about the cultivars of tea and what influences such stark difference in the cultivars. Can you kindly suggest some of your sources you used?

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

There were so many books and academic papers that I used. But a few of the good books I'd recommend are: "A History of Tea: The Life and Times of the World's Favorite Beverage" by Laura C Martin, "Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties" by Kevin Gascoyne, Francolis Marchand, & Jasmine Desharnais, "The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide" by Mary Lou Heiss, "All About Tea" by William Ukers. My thanks to you Muttaki for taking the time to listen. I hope you enjoy the rest of the series.

[@rubenchico4931]

ur an OG

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

I'll take that as a compliment I think.

[@rubenchico4931]

@@ChinaHistoryPodcast IT IS omg I love your content- you're verified in the Bronx I love china and all my fellow sinophiles!!!!

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

@@rubenchico4931 I'm honored. I hope you like all my other non-tea history stuff.

[@rubenchico4931]

@@ChinaHistoryPodcast of course I do!!!!!!

[@spacehunternebulanm7003]

add captions

[@abejar99]

The first tea plant grew out of the Buddha's eyelashes the morning after he'd ripped them because he was trying to meditate and was falling asleep instead; this is the reason why tea keeps you awake. True story, look it up

[@generator6946]

Ah! Tea! Heat The Water Pot! Now Steep! Add Honey. Ah! Tea!

[@thekingminn]

Tea in Burmese is Laphet

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

လက်ဖက်ရည်

[@chankane]

I always thought the Spanish were the first to bought/ trade tea from Fujian China into the western world, that’s why they’re called “teh”.

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Could be. No one got anything on video. I read the Portuguese were first. but easily could have been the Spanish.

[@victoriajade521]

@@ChinaHistoryPodcast Portuguese were one of the colonizer in China.

[@brucefrizzell4221]

Had to watch a 10minute netflix unskipable add. Channel is good though .

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Dang! You're kidding! Really? I went and checked immediately and had two 30-second ads that were skippable. Ten-minute unskippable ad on Netflix??? I really apologize for that. I hope you don't hold me in too much contempt for opting in to ads....but a 10-minute ad that you can't skip past is unconscionable and I truly apologize Bruce.

[@Cooperally]

Is this your vocation or avocation? Are you Asian? Do you live in the US?

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Hi Leslie, this is just a passion project of mine. I get donations and do a small business selling hats, shirts and mugs. Been doing this since 2010. I am not Asian and live in Los Angeles.

[@PRAR1966]

@The Spiffing Brit

[@PhoenixDarshan]

Pm

[@etloo1971]

Southern Chinese called tea as 'Teh' while Northern Chinese called it 'Cha'.

[@ChinaHistoryPodcast]

Where'd you read that?

[@etloo1971]

@@ChinaHistoryPodcast In Mandarin tea is called Cha. In Hokkien/Taiwanese it's Teh.

[@josephwamoto3529]

Indians call it ‘chai’ which has been transferred to Swahili

[@axelNodvon2047]

@@etloo1971 Cantonese people still call it cha, so you claiming all southerners call it teh is wrong

[@etloo1971]

@@axelNodvon2047 Southeast Chinese called it teh. Hainanese also called it teh.