Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Leaves from the southwest were steeped as a medicine before a drink. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a food fact?

Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Tea was first brewed in China

Leaves from the southwest were steeped as a medicine before a drink Tea comes from Camellia sinensis, a shrub native to the borderlands of southwest China, Assam and Burma. Early records describe the leaves being boiled with other plants as a bitter infusion, and by the Tang dynasty tea had become a formal drink with its own rituals. Seeds and plants were smuggled out to India in the nineteenth century, breaking the Chinese monopoly. It sits in Mondo's food collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

World Cultures trivia

More facts like this

Oolong is tea that is partly oxidisedLeaf makers stop the browning partway, leaving a range from green to dark Assam tea comes from a larger leaf varietyCamellia sinensis var. assamica grows tall with broad leaves suited to strong tea Tea grades describe leaf size not qualityTerms like orange pekoe and fannings refer to how the leaf was sorted Leaf oxidation levels define major tea categoriesBlack green and oolong teas come from the same plant species processed differently Water temperature changes how much tannin tea releasesBoiling water extracts more astringency than water below the boil Matcha is shaded before the leaves are pickedWeeks under cover raise chlorophyll and theanine, deepening colour and savour

Tags: tea, china, camellia

Tea was first brewed in China: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Leaves from the southwest were steeped as a medicine before a drink. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a food fact?: Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.