A tea leaf falls into water and changes the taste of it. Tea was born from the encounter between water and fire, life and death. The fate of tea is the fate of the Chinese people. Follow Damian Harper, writer for Lonely Planet, as he takes you around the world to explore the history, origins and development of tea.

From the tea plantations to the barrens plains, from the search of tea to the planting of one’s own, the lives of Chinese people have been intertwined with tea.

For thousands of years, people of the East have discovered the meaning of life through a cup of tea, even the Japanese tea ceremony has its origins in China.

Over the last 100 years, tea has journeyed all over the world and influenced many cultures. From Asia to Africa, tea has found home in the soils of different nations.

England doesn’t produce its own tea, but it has the biggest consumption of tea in the world, thanks to its elegance and rich culture of enjoying afternoon tea.

Some people exist because of tea and tea is their constant companion. These people are the tea producers.