The story of tea began in China about 5000 years ago. According to legends, the discovery of it is based on Emperor Shen Nung, known as a capable ruler, a creative scientist and a patron of the arts. One of his ideas was that water should be boiled as an insurance against infections that could harm health. A legend has it that one summer day while he was travelling to a distant region in his kingdom he stopped for a rest from his tiring trip. Following his orders, the servants boiled some water for him to drink. By accident, some dry leaves of a plant nearby fell into his cup colouring the water, and a pleasant, refreshing fragrance drifted from it. The emperor was intrigued by the new mixture and tasted it. He found it very refreshing. Due to the extreme practicality of this myth, many people tend to believe that things were very close to actual historical events. Knowledge about this drink moved outside China to Japan and later the plant arrived in Europe and America where people were fascinated with its potential.
