Tea is much more than a bunch of dried leaves boiled in hot water. Tea is any brew made from herbs, spices, seeds, bark, stems, flowers or leaves. According to ancient Chinese legend, the first cup of tea was brewed in 2737 B.C., when the leaves of a black tea shrub accidentally fell into the boiling water of Emperor Shen Nung, the father of Chinese medicine.
Ever since, everyone from Asian monks to American herbalists have used teas to treat everything including skin problems and flu symptoms.