Magazine
History
Brève histoire du thé
Before becoming a drink, tea was a food supplement mixed with soup and dishes.
Imperial tribute in the 10th century, like salt and other foodstuffs, tea was exchanged for horses with the Mongols, whose diet was mainly meat.
From the TANG dynasty (618-907), tea became a popular national drink for nobles and the Imperial Court.
Precious objects appear as well as a technique called “art of tea”. During this period, tea was also associated with Buddhism (Chan school) which is found today in Japan for the “tea ceremony”, beaten powdered green tea.
The most important treatise on tea is that of Lu Yu in 758, the Chajing, (The classic of tea) in three volumes and ten sections. It describes in great detail the cultivation, gathering, preparation, appropriate water sources, the objects to be used and how to drink various teas etc.
Tea arrived in Europe thanks to the Indo-Dutch company around 1602. In 1640 a Dutch doctor, Nicolas Tulpius, published a medicinal treatise on tea, probably inspired by the stories of sailors coming from the East.
In 1655 the drink was already widespread in Parisian high society. Two French doctors in turn wrote about tea: Morisset in 1648 and Jonquet in 1657. Tea toured the Courts of Europe and was adopted by the Imperial Court of Russia.
It appeared in England around 1661, but it was only in 1669 that the first shipment officially entered England with the Compagnie des Indes. The success of tea in England is such that it became an economic force and would cause a "tea war" with the Middle Kingdom.
The enormous financial stakes made it necessary to build specialized boats to transport the precious tea crops to Europe and America as quickly as possible.
Tea, of Chinese origin, is today the most popular drink in the world after water.
In China there are as many varieties of tea as there are producers from 8,000 to 9,000 depending on the sources.
Chinese teas are classified into six families:
- Yellow tea
- White tea
- Green tea
- Wulong tea
- Red tea, called black by Westerners
- Black tea
Each family develops into a sub-family of varieties.
The equivalent of the grands crus are called ‘Grands Jardins’, which can be found in all families. In general these Great Gardens come from small productions (some of which are reserved for the Imperial Court,) which still persist today for the gourverment.
Red teas are so called by the Chinese because of the color of the infusion (it is our black tea).
The wulong are fermented between 15 and 60%, those fermented by 15% are called "blue-green". Their tasting is done in Gong Fu Cha.
White and yellow teas are more rare and subtle, prepared with care.
Other teas like Pu Er are in high demand today; they can be kept and improved for many years like Sheng Cha whose fermentation has not been stopped.
The Pu Er Sheng Cha are at the origin of tea and the Chinese pharmacopoeia. As imperial tributes they were exchanged by La Cour with the Mongols for horses. Caravans traded it with Tibet as far as the Persian Gulf via the famous Tea Routes.
Like wines and spirits, tea is a knowledge, a culture.
All the teas we present are teas whose origins we know exactly. As well as the terroirs, the moments of picking, shaping, transport and conservation.
Two trips a year are devoted solely to our tea supplies.
Our catalog therefore presents our teas with their moment of picking.
Imperial tribute in the 10th century, like salt and other foodstuffs, tea was exchanged for horses with the Mongols, whose diet was mainly meat.
From the TANG dynasty (618-907), tea became a popular national drink for nobles and the Imperial Court.
Precious objects appear as well as a technique called “art of tea”. During this period, tea was also associated with Buddhism (Chan school) which is found today in Japan for the “tea ceremony”, beaten powdered green tea.
The most important treatise on tea is that of Lu Yu in 758, the Chajing, (The classic of tea) in three volumes and ten sections. It describes in great detail the cultivation, gathering, preparation, appropriate water sources, the objects to be used and how to drink various teas etc.
Tea arrived in Europe thanks to the Indo-Dutch company around 1602. In 1640 a Dutch doctor, Nicolas Tulpius, published a medicinal treatise on tea, probably inspired by the stories of sailors coming from the East.
In 1655 the drink was already widespread in Parisian high society. Two French doctors in turn wrote about tea: Morisset in 1648 and Jonquet in 1657. Tea toured the Courts of Europe and was adopted by the Imperial Court of Russia.
It appeared in England around 1661, but it was only in 1669 that the first shipment officially entered England with the Compagnie des Indes. The success of tea in England is such that it became an economic force and would cause a "tea war" with the Middle Kingdom.
The enormous financial stakes made it necessary to build specialized boats to transport the precious tea crops to Europe and America as quickly as possible.
Tea, of Chinese origin, is today the most popular drink in the world after water.
In China there are as many varieties of tea as there are producers from 8,000 to 9,000 depending on the sources.
Chinese teas are classified into six families:
- Yellow tea
- White tea
- Green tea
- Wulong tea
- Red tea, called black by Westerners
- Black tea
Each family develops into a sub-family of varieties.
The equivalent of the grands crus are called ‘Grands Jardins’, which can be found in all families. In general these Great Gardens come from small productions (some of which are reserved for the Imperial Court,) which still persist today for the gourverment.
Red teas are so called by the Chinese because of the color of the infusion (it is our black tea).
The wulong are fermented between 15 and 60%, those fermented by 15% are called "blue-green". Their tasting is done in Gong Fu Cha.
White and yellow teas are more rare and subtle, prepared with care.
Other teas like Pu Er are in high demand today; they can be kept and improved for many years like Sheng Cha whose fermentation has not been stopped.
The Pu Er Sheng Cha are at the origin of tea and the Chinese pharmacopoeia. As imperial tributes they were exchanged by La Cour with the Mongols for horses. Caravans traded it with Tibet as far as the Persian Gulf via the famous Tea Routes.
Like wines and spirits, tea is a knowledge, a culture.
All the teas we present are teas whose origins we know exactly. As well as the terroirs, the moments of picking, shaping, transport and conservation.
Two trips a year are devoted solely to our tea supplies.
Our catalog therefore presents our teas with their moment of picking.