These young female handlers were not to eat garlic, onions, or strong spices in case the odor on their fingertips might contaminate the precious tea leaves. It was even specified that only young women, presumably because of their purity, were to handle the tea leaves. The Chinese empire tightly controlled the preparation and cultivation of the crop. Tea plantations spread throughout China, tea merchants became rich, and expensive, elegant tea wares became the banner for the wealth and status of their owners. No longer merely used for its medicinal properties, tea became valued for everyday pleasure and refreshment. The popularity of tea in China continued to grow rapidly from the 4th through the 8th century. This written character, also pronounced "ch'a" symbolized the way tea brought humankind into balance with nature for the Chinese culture. a Han Dynasty Emperor ruled that when referring to tea, a special written character must be used illustrating wooden branches, grass, and a man between the two. Shen Nung named the brew "ch'a", the Chinese character meaning to check or investigate. Legend says the Emperor described a warm feeling as he drank the intriguing brew, as if the liquid was investigating every part of his body. He was immediately interested in the pleasant scent of the resulting brew, and drank some. Emperor Shen Nung discovered tea when leaves from a wild tree blew into his pot of boiling water. The history of tea dates back to ancient China, almost 5,000 years ago.
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