The origin of tea can be traced back to over 4000 years ago in China. No one is sure where and when tea was first brewed; stories about tea's origins are more myth than reality. One story tells that a legendary Chinese leader and medical expert, Sheng Nong, discovered tea as a medicinal herb in 2737 B.C. One day while he was boiling water under a tea tree, some tealeaves fell into Sheng's pot of boiling water. After drinking some tea, he discovered its miraculous powers and immediately placed tea on his list of medicinal herbs.  

Initially used as an offering and as medicine, tea became the most commonly used beverage during western Han dynasty. Buddhist monks started growing it around monasteries. Later, during the Ming dynasty, the tea trade took an upper share in the state economy and the ”Tea and Horse Bureau" was set up to supervise tea trade. Click here to read more.

Sushi has a very interesting origin that has lasted for centuries and continues to be a very popular food source today.  Sushi is made with a combination of shellfish, cooked or raw fish, vegetables, and seasoned rice.  Although Sushi is most commonly linked to the Japanese heritage, it actually began in China during the 7^th Century. 

At that time, any fish caught had to be preserved.  The only method possible was by fermentation.  Raw fish was cleaned, filleted, and then pressed between layers of heavy salt and usually weighted down with some type of stone.  The fish would remain this way for weeks at which the stone would be removed and then replaced with some type of light cover.  The fish would stay in the salt layers for a couple of months until the fermentation process was complete. Click here to read more.