Tea, as China's national drink, has been one of the daily necessities in China since time immemorial. A Chinese saying identifies the seven basic daily necessities as firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. And a popular Chinese proverb even says, "Rather go without salt for three days than without tea for a single day." 

The Chinese were the first to discover the tea leaf. According to the Chinese mythology, Shennong, the Chinese Emperor, scholar and herbalist, was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water. A leaf from the tree dropped into the water and he decided to try the brew. The tree was a wild tea tree. It was during China's Tang Dynasty that tea became the national beverage of choice. Buddhist priests are thought to have been responsible for spreading the cultivation of tea throughout China and Japan

Tea is an indispensable part of the life of a Chinese. The custom of drinking tea is deeply ingrained in almost every Chinese, and has been for over a thousand years. Wherever Chinese go, the custom of drinking tea follows. Many people like to have their after-meal tea. And tea-houses in China provide people to meet and chat over a cup of tea. Even the neighboring countries of Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia came to adopt the tea drinking custom. 

Tea contains vitamins, tea derivatives, essential oils, and fluoride. It is a diuretic, attributed with the properties of improving the eyesight and increasing alertness, so Chinese believe that frequent tea drinkers enjoy an increased life span. Its medical properties and benefits to the human body have in fact been scientifically proven, and tea has come to be generally recognized as a natural health food. However, to make a good pot of tea, special attention must be paid to the quality of the water temperature, the amount of tea leaves used, and the type of teapot. 

People enamored of tea drinking also usually enjoy the beauty and feel of teapots. Tea is a cash crop in China, an agricultural product that is a source of foreign exchange earnings. 

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