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How to Minimize Hunger and Maximize Satiety
What to Drink — More Tea
Tea, one of the world’s most popular beverages, likely originated in China around 2700 BC. Legend claims that Shen Nong was boiling some water in a pot when some leaves fell in. This slightly bitter drink made him think quicker and see clearer. Tea drinking subsequently went ‘viral’ and would have broken the internet had the internet only existed almost 5000 years ago. It spread throughout the world (a little more slowly) by the various ancient trade routes. In the 1500s, Portuguese traders brought tea to Europe and by the 1600s it spread to England, who spread their cultural tastes (and their famous stiff upper lip) to much of the rest of the world. The word tea comes from ‘tu’ meaning bitter, and when tea spread via sea trade it translated into the English ‘tea’ to as far away as the Maori ‘tii’.
In the mid 7th century, a pen stroke was removed from the Chinese word to become ‘cha’ in the dialects of the landlocked regions of China. When tea spread via the ancient Silk Road it became related to ‘cha’ which led to the Swahili ‘chai’ and as far as the Russian ‘chay’. Virtually all the words for tea in all the different languages of the world are variations are either ‘tea’ or ‘cha’.
