Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!

We have gathered here tonight to talk about an important part of our lives: our daily beloved tea. Yes, youve heard me well: tea. Over the centuries, drinking tea has become a habit for most of us, but unfortunately very few of us know something about its history, about where and when it appeared for the first time. Thats why tonight I will present to you a brief story about it. Legend has it that tea was discovered by the Chinese Emperor, Shan Nong, in 2737 B.C. The Emperor had a habit of boiling his drinking water. One day while he was in his garden a few tea leaves fell by chance into his boiling water which then gave off a rich, alluring aroma. The Emperor, upon drinking this brew, discovered it to be refreshing and energizing. Thus the custom of brewing fresh tea leaves in hot water began and it quickly spread. Until the fifth century A.D., tea was primarily used as a remedy, due to the medicinal benefits attributed to it. From this time onwards, China's upper class adopted the fashion of presenting packages of tea as highly esteemed gifts and of enjoying drinking tea at social events. At around the same time the Chinese tea ceremony began to develop and the tidings of tea began to spread as it reached Japan. Tea arrived in Europe via Dutch and Portuguese sailors at the beginning of the 17th century. They had trade relations with China and brought the tea to Britain and Holland, where it was sold at auctions and became very popular among the aristocracy and the wealthy, as a pound of tea cost an average British laborer the amount of 9 months of working. Soon, British companies were established for the importing tea and at the beginning of the 18th century, with the expansion of tea imports and the consequent decrease in its price, tea became a common product enjoyed by all sectors of the population. At the beginning of the 18th century, tea arrived in Northern America. At around that time, the British Empire decided to place taxes on the tea supply to the colonies of North America who were under their power. This decision greatly angered the American settlers who decided to boycott the taxed products in protest. This lead to the appearance of the "Boston Tea Party", during which a group of settlers boarded one of the ships anchored in the Boston harbor and started throwing hundreds of crates of tea from its deck into the sea. Interesting, right? And to think that there are only a few people who know these facts Its a pity, isnt it fellows? Thank you.