Did you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world (after water), was invented by accident? Many people believe that tea was first drunk   (几乎，差不多) 5,000 years ago. It is said that a Chinese   (统治者) called Shen Nong first discovered tea as a drink. One day Shen Nong was 煮沸) drinking water over an open fire. Some leaves from a tea plant fell into the water and remained there for some time. It produced a nice   (气味) so he tasted the brown water. It was quite delicious. And so, one of the world’s favorite drinks was invented.
A few thousand years later, Lu Yu, “the saint of tea”, (提到) Shen Nong in his book Cha Jing. The book describes how tea plants were grown and used to make tea. It also discusses where the   (最好的)tea leaves were produced and what kinds of water were used.
It is believed that tea was   (带到) to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7th centuries. In England, tea didn’t appear until around 1660, but less than 100 years later, it had become the (民族的) drink. The tea trade from China to Western countries took place in the 19th century. This helped to (传播) the popularity of tea and the tea plant to more places around the world. Even though many people now know about tea culture, the Chinese are without   (疑问) the ones who best understand the nature of tea.