# 6 All About Tea

Which country grows the most tea? The answer is India. It grows three times as much as China. Which country drinks the most tea? It’s neither China nor Japan. It’s Great Britain.

In the wild, tea plants may be 30 feet tall. But a plant grown for market is pruned. Pruning keeps the plant only three or four feet tall. This is an easy height for tea plucking. Only the two top leaves and bud of each new shoot are plucked. So to make money, tea plantations must be huge.

In general, there are two kinds of tea. Black tea and green tea. Black tea is fermented. In the process, the tea loses nearly all of its healthy qualities. Green tea is steamed right after the leaves are picked. Green tea retains its healthy qualities. For instance, it may prevent heart disease.

How did we get tea bags? The answer: by accident. Tea merchants used to send samples in tin boxes. This was costly. One merchant thought of a cheaper way. He sent samples in small silk bags. Customers would snip open the bag. They would brew the leaves as usual. One customer put the bag into a pot. Then he just poured hot water over it. And the tea bag was born.

Shen Nung was the first to drink tea. (Shen was a Chinese emperor.) This was about 2737 B.C. Shen had bad digestion. So he drank several cups of hot water daily. One day something happened. Leaves from a wild tea tree fell into the hot water pot. The next cup was poured. The water was now colored. Shen sipped it. He liked it. He drank it all. Shen was proud of his new drink. He served it to his guests. Word spread. People thought this way. Tea is good enough for the Emperor. So it must be good enough for the people. Tea became the drink of China.

# 6 關於茶的一切

哪個國家種植最多的茶葉？答案是印度。它的產量是中國的三倍。哪個國家喝茶最多？既不是中國也不是日本。是英國。

在野外，茶樹可能高達30英尺。但為市場種植的茶樹經過修剪。修剪使植株僅保持三到四英尺高。這是採茶的方便高度。只採摘每個新芽頂端的兩片葉子和芽尖。因此為了賺錢，茶園必須非常廣闊。

一般來說，有兩種茶。紅茶和綠茶。紅茶是經過發酵的。在這個過程中，茶葉幾乎失去了所有健康品質。綠茶在葉子採摘後立即蒸製。綠茶保留了其健康品質。例如，它可能有助於預防心臟病。

我們是怎麼得到茶包的？答案：偶然。茶商過去常用錫盒寄送樣品。這很昂貴。一位商人想到了一個更便宜的方法。他用小絲袋寄送樣品。顧客會剪開袋子。他們會像往常一樣沖泡茶葉。一位顧客把袋子放進壺裡。然後他直接把熱水倒在上面。茶包就這樣誕生了。

神農是第一個喝茶的人。（神農是中國皇帝。）這大約在公元前2737年。神農消化不好。所以他每天喝幾杯熱水。一天發生了某事。野生茶樹的葉子掉進了熱水壺裡。倒出下一杯時。水現在有了顏色。神農嚐了嚐。他很喜歡。他全喝光了。神農為他的新飲料感到自豪。他用它來招待客人。消息傳開了。人們這樣想：茶對皇帝來說都足夠好。所以對人民也一定足夠好。茶成了中國的飲品。