The History of the Tea

The History of the Tea

            According to a Chinese legend, the King of Chinese and plant scientist Shen Nong, his servant was sitting under a tree as he boiled water to prepare dinner. Incidentally, some leafs fell down into the water and water turned to a brownish color. This new liquid which emerged, it was interested of the King and drank some from it. The King felt relaxing about this liquid and the tea was discovered in this way. There is a similar story about tea for Indian. According to The Indians, Buda was the first person who drank. When Buda fell in asleep, he chews to leaf of tea and he resolves his fatigue.

Kazan Tatar Turks Abdul Kayyum Nasar-ı’s in named Favakihül-Cülesa book is mentioned. The first Turk was Hoca Ahmed Yesevi that drank the tea firstly and he lived in Kazakhstan, according to Nasiri. Yesevi who visited his neighbor and drank a cup of tea told him that, you are drunk to your patient and they will get better, he prayed.

   The Tea was brought to Ottoman Empire by the Turks past of 19th century. This meeting started in Istanbul by some of the stores began to import tea.The first attempt of growing tea was the era of Sultan Abdulhamid II. In A book Named Cografya-i Sınai ve Ticari which released in 1892,

It needed to pass time a bit so that the tea emerge in the territory of Anatolia. in 1918, A teacher of High-Agriculture School of Halkalı, Ali Rıza Erten, The general manager of Agriculture,  Zihni Derin was sent to the East Black sea after World War I. After Erten's report of appropriate for grow up the tea in Black sea, the works of Zihni Derin was concluded with set up a plantation of tea in the region, in Rize in 1923. Again with efforts of Zihni Derin, It was offered a law to administration in order that supports to producing tea and was accepted it. But the negative economic conditions blocked this attempt.

Prime Minister Ismet Inonu went on a dormitory tour in 1935. When he arrived in Rize he saw that It was started an attempt here but which was unfinished the attempt. Inonu cared about the issue and he sent to the region a committee from the Faculty of Agriculture. Prof.Dr. Raşit Hatipoğlu who members of the group researched the detailed informations regarding tea and wrote a book called "Tea Economics in Turkey". After his works, Rize Tea and Plantations Directorate started the activity again in 1938. As a result of all of works, for the first time, it was begun to be produced a large scale dried tea in Turkey.

After the first introducing, Tea was begun to introduce to the people. Tea was delivered to teahouses as free in Rize. Introduction works concluded positively and Turkish people began to produce and consume the local tea.

Due to World War 2 requirement tea machines could not get for tea factory in Rize. The machines which ordered from England in 1940, the machines got to Turkey in 1946. The first tea factory inaugurated in Rize, 1947.

In following years, The product where gathered from plantations of tea satisfied the public. The Money that earned increased the economic power in Eastern Black Sea. Early in 1965, the dried tea produce could answer to need the local consume. Today Turkey is a country that can export tea to about twenty-five countries.