One day 4500 years ago Chinese emperor Shan Nong was sitting in his garden drinking boiled water as usual. Suddenly a few tea leaves fell by chance into his cup. The emperor loved the rich aroma and refreshing taste and tea drinking spread throughoutChina.

Four thousand years passed until Dutch and Portuguese sailors brought tea toEurope where it was sold in auctions mainly to the wealthy. Tea drinking spread toAmericawith the colonists. When theBritish Empiredecided to tax the colonies’ tea supply the colonists were furious and decided to protest. Whenever British ships arrived at the harbors with tea the colonists would demonstrate and force the ships to leave without unloading. In December 1773 colonists boarded a ship inBostonHarborand threw hundreds of crates of tea overboard in what’s known as the Boston Tea Party.Englandretaliated by shutting down the harbor. This was one of the sparks that began the American War of Independence.