Shen Nung, the second emperor of China, is said to have discovered tea as early as 2737 BC when tea leaves blew into his cup of hot water. Over three thousand years later, during the Tang Dynasty in China, tea culture flourished and tea entered people's daily lives as a major commodity. Since then tea has served as a social outlet, a symbol of status, a battlefield sedative, and a stimulant to enhance meditation and prayer.

Tea has also long been thought to have powerful healing properties,...