Ever lay awake at night wondering, “How old is the oldest tea?” Maybe not, but for those lucky few of you who do, we have the answer.
The first documented evidence of tea leaves being consumed as the beverage we know today, dates to 2,100 years ago. New findings in Chinese Emperor Liu Qi tomb, push the date from 2,000 to 2,1000 years ago. And yes, it’s the good stuff, not the fannings. Scientist took what was left of the buried tea and found trace amounts of theanine. Theanine is an amino acid found only in tea.
For more info, check out this NPR report