The history of tea begins in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to Chinese legend an emperor named Shen Nung, was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron of the arts. His far-sighted edicts required that all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. While visiting a distant region of his realm he stopped to rest. As servants boiled water for the court to drink dried leaves from the near by bush fell into the boiling water, resulting in a brown liquid. Curious, the Emperor drank some, and found it pleasurable. According to the legend tea was created. Some mythologists believe it is close to the actual events. Tea consumption reached every aspect of Chinese society and culture.
Lu Yu wrote the first definitive book on tea in 800 A.D. named the Ch'a Ching. Lu Yu was orphaned as a child and raised by scholarly Buddhist monks. As a performer his fame increased with each year, however he believed his life lacked meaning. In mid-life, Lu Yu retired and went into seclusion for five years. From his memory of events that he observed, Lu Yu organized various methods of tea cultivation and preparation in ancient China. The importance of his work, brought him near to sainthood within his lifetime.
Tea came to the Japanese by returning Buddhist priest Yeisei, who while in chine realized the benefits of tea, resulting in him becoming known as the "Father of Tea" in Japan. Due to this tea in Japan has always been associated with Zen Buddhism. Tea received nearly immediate imperial sponsorship, spreading rapidly from the royal court and monasteries to the other sections of Japanese society.
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