Compléter Lesson 48Version en ligne The story of tea par merle moumets 1 tea followed Amazingly plantation Emperor tea far Ice Duchess clever herbs liquid fair refreshing food exactly Earl nearby off The story of tea began in China over 5000 years ago . A legend talks about the of China , Shen Nung , who was also a scientist . One summer day when he was visiting a part of his country , he stopped to rest . His servants made a bonfire and began to boil water for the Emperor to drink . Some leaves from a bush fell into the boiling water and the water turned light brown . As a scientist , the Emperor was interested in the new . He decided to try some and found it delicious and . And so tea was born . From China and India , tea was imported to Europe . The Portuguese and the Dutch were the first to try the new drink . In Britain , tea only became popular about 350 years ago when King Charles II married the Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza . Catherine loved drinking tea and soon the whole country . Tea was very expensive at first . It was a luxury - only for rich people to enjoy . The famous British " afternoon tea " was invented by Anna , the of Bedford , in 1840 . In the old days , the English only had two meals a day - breakfast and dinner . So every afternoon Duchess Anna got a little hungry . She asked for some tea and sandwiches . Some time earlier , the of Sandwich had the idea of putting meat and cheese between two slices of bread , making a new type of food - the sandwich . Duchess Anna started sending cards to her friends asking them to join her for " tea and walking the meadows " at 5 o'clock in the afternoon . Duchess Anna's tea parties became very popular . , we drink almost the same tea today that Emperor Shen Nung drank the day he discovered it . Tea comes from a plant called Camellia sinensis . It grows in China , India , Sri Lanka , Indonesia , Kenya and Argentina . This is the only plant from which " real " tea is made . All other hot drinks that we call " tea " ( like raspberry tea and peppermint tea ) are really just fruits or and hot water . and tea bags were invented in America . In 1904 there was a big in St . Louis . A man called Richard Blechynden , a owner , offered his tea to visitors . It was a very hot day and no one wanted a hot drink , so Blechynden got a big bag of ice and poured it into the tea pot . Ice tea was born and became the biggest hit of the fair .