Sunday, April 30, 2006 Saturday, April 29, 2006 No one knows for
certain exactly where or when the tea plant, Camelia sinensis,
originated, or even when or by whom it was first domesticated.
What is known is that the tree evolved somewhere in the jungles
of the eastern Himalayas, where in an amazingly rapid
evolutionary development, the great varieties in temperature and
micro-climate caused by the mountains rising from tropical
lowlands, combined with the heaviest rainfall in the world as
the monsoon clouds hit the outlying Himalayas, made it the most
varied and rich region for plants in the world. It seems likely
that parts of the tea tree were first chewed by monkeys and
other mammals indigenous to this region. Homo sapiens spread
into the area between sixty and a hundred thousands years ago,
and, perhaps taking their cue from the monkeys, early tribesmen
began chewing tea and found it to be stimulating and relaxing to
mind and body. It helped when carrying out arduous tasks, such
as tramping through jungl