The history of Tibet tea

Tibetan tea - a gift from nature
Tibet tea -from one leaf to one nation

Tibet tea originated around 1300 years ago. In 641, Princess Wen Cheng married the Chinese Tang Dynasty the Tibetan King Songtsan Gampu. Princess Wen Cheng brought tea leaves to Tibet as a wedding present. From that time on, Tibetans started drinking tea.


The Tibetans' need for tea grew very quickly and since they could not grow tea themselves due to the plateau climate, they were dependent on imports from China. The Chinese government needed a large number of horses due to its military conquests. Tibetan areas produced good horses.

This is how the "Tea Horse Exchange Market" and its own trade route, "the Tea Horse Street", came into being. This had played a very important role in the development of Tibetan tea. The tea leaves, which were dry at the beginning, were exposed to weather conditions such as rain, wind and sun and drought on the long journey. A natural fermentation process started during the transport, which led to a unique taste. This enjoyed increasing popularity among the Tibetans.


So an ordinary tea turned into that from then onTibet teacalled tea.


The famous "old tea horse street"

Tibet tea - a tea for life

The Tea Horse Road is the world's highest, most difficult and longest trade route between Sichuan and Tibet from ancient times. sheleads through high mountains, wide valleys, old villages and raging rivers. The Tee-Pferd-Straße is a road that has been completely opened up step by step by horse hooves and coachmen.

Chinese tea and Tibetan horses were delivered along this approximately 3,000-kilometer route. The tea caravans needed more than six months for the arduous journey. Many Chinese carried the tea in bales weighing up to 100 kilograms on their backs. The journey along the road was not without danger. The tea caravans were not infrequently attacked by highwaymen and bandits.


Impressions

The first panda
Our Tibetan tea region of Ya'an also has a little history. In 1869 the French missionary Almender David discovered the first panda bear in Ya'an. The cute bears are China's most popular ambassadors around the world to this day.