Comparing Chinese and Japanese Tea Culture
Of three major beverages of the world ¨C tea, coffee and cocoa ¨C tea is consumed by the largest number of people. People throughout China and Japan drink tea daily and tea is considered part of Chinese and Japanese culture. The tea culture from these two countries have a lot in common in history and function, yet a lot difference in categories and tea-drinking ceremony. It is believed that tea was discovered by a Chinese Emperor named Shen Nung about 5000 years ago. Tea was always as one of the Chinese medicine until 3rd or 4th centuries then tea became a beverage. Chinese tea was originally for ¡°rich and powerful¡± people only because it¡¯s rare and hard to get. Tea and Buddhist were inseparable in ancient China. The philosophy in tea tasting is very much parallel with Buddhist philosophy in mediation. Japanese tea was originally from, it was handed down to Japan by Japanese Buddhist priest to the Emperor. Monks who would study and meditate for long hours discovered that tea helped them to fight sleepiness.