When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

food / travel

Tea Farming In China, Boiled Down In Five Facts

Tea Farming In China, Boiled Down In Five Facts
Patrick Randall

The 12th Shanghai International Tea Culture Festival ended last week in the Chinese megalopolis. Hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world came to buy, taste and learn more about the ancient and ever-popular beverage.

But where does tea come from and how is it produced? Here are five facts tea drinkers can ponder over their next cup of chai, accompanied by some breathtaking photos of tea farmers in the southern Chinese county of Sanjiang Dong, courtesy of Xinhua and ZUMA.

1. The very first records of tea consumption go back to the 10th century BC. But Chinese legends say it was discovered by the Chinese Emperor Shennong in 2737 BC, when tea leaves fell into water he was boiling, which he then tasted and found refreshing. Also known as the "Emperor of the Five Grains," Shennong is credited with inventing hoes, plows, axes and digging wells.

2. Although India is the largest tea-drinking country, China is its biggest producer, turning out about 30% of the world’s supply. There are four main tea-producing areas in China, each one with special kinds of leaves: the Jiangbei and Jiangnan districts, southern China and southwest provinces.

3. The smaller the leaf, the more valuable the tea. One of the world’s most expensive teas is served for about $200 per cup. Tea bushes are fertilized with panda waste, which preserves a large part of the nutrients found in the bamboo the pandas eat.

4. Some of the oldest cultivated tea trees can be found in the mystical forests of the southwestern Yunnan province, also called the "land of tea." The most ancient tree there is said to be more about 3,200 years old.

5. Tea is consumed as a beverage during meals or for simple pleasure, but this wasn't always the case. In Ancient China, tea was generally used as medicine. Now that the beverage has become synonymous with comfort and social gatherings, there are now some 1,000 varieties of tea.

BONUS Did you know that in China, there is a special ritual to prepare and present tea that some call the "kung fu tea ceremony?" The aim is simple: make the tea as tasty as possible.

Read more about tea here, or news about a different kind of Chinese farming.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

That Man In Mariupol: Is Putin Using A Body Double To Avoid Public Appearances?

Putin really is meeting with Xi in Moscow — we know that. But there are credible experts saying that the person who showed up in Mariupol the day before was someone else — the latest report that the Russian president uses a doppelganger for meetings and appearances.

screen grab of Putin in a dark down jacket

During the visit to Mariupol, the Presidential office only released screen grabs of a video

Russian President Press Office/TASS via ZUMA
Anna Akage

Have no doubt, the Vladimir Putin we’re seeing alongside Xi Jinping this week is the real Vladimir Putin. But it’s a question that is being asked after a range of credible experts have accused the Russian president of sending a body double for a high-profile visit this past weekend in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

Reports and conspiracy theories have circulated in the past about the Russian leader using a stand-in because of health or security issues. But the reaction to the Kremlin leader's trip to Mariupol is the first time that multiple credible sources — including those who’ve spent time with him in the past — have cast doubt on the identity of the man who showed up in the southeastern Ukrainian city that Russia took over last spring after a months-long siege.

Russian opposition politician Gennady Gudkov is among those who confidently claim that a Putin look-alike, or rather one of his look-alikes, was in the Ukrainian city.

"Now that there is a war going on, I don't rule out the possibility that someone strongly resembling or disguised as Putin is playing his role," Gudkov said.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest