It was over 5,000 years ago that a few leaves fell into China's Emperor Shen Nung's cup and tea was born.                     The Dutch were the first to introduce tea to Europe and America.                     The Dutch and British started drinking tea only 350 years ago.                     Tea in the States is forever linked with the Boston Tea Party and the severing of our colonial ties with Britain.                      The same plant yields hundreds of different teas because of differences in the growing regions and different methods of making tea.                     Tea is used by buddhist monks during long meditations. It is thought to harmonize two elements; alertness and relaxation.                     Americans drink 50 billion cups of tea a year; 40 billion are iced.                      Currently, US tea drinkers prefer black (94%) to green (4%) and oolong (2%).                     Tea leaf reading is called tasseography.