The Legends

The Legends
Legends about discovery of tea with the origins of the average shrouded in Oriental folklore.

The legend credits the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung, who discovered that the boiling of water made it safe to drink.

One day, almost five thousand years ago, as the Emperor was waiting for his pot to boil, leaves from a bush nearly fell into the hot water.

The emperor drank the liquid and found it tasty, refreshing and relaxing.

The wild plant was Camellia sinensis, which can grow to approximately 15 feet. The China plant is very hardy and can with stand extreme cold temperature.

The leaves are approximately two inches long.

Camellia assamica is considered a tree and can grow up to 65 feet if not reduced to the plucking level of about 4 feet.

The leaf is six times as large as the sinensis as the sinensis leaf.

The Camellia assamica subspecies lasiocalyx is also tree that grows to about 15 feet. The leaf size is intermediate between sinensis and assamica.
The Legends