There's now evidence that Chinese royals have been sipping on tea since the middle of the second century. Archaeologists' recent excavation of the tomb of Han Dynasty Emperor Jing Di, who died in 141 BC, has turned up what archaeologists say is the world's oldest known tea. Up until this discovery, the only evidence of tea's existence in China that long ago was a single ancient text that claimed China was exporting tea leaves to Tibet.
Archaeologists found the ancient tea leaves buried in a wooden box with the emperor in his tomb, presumably so he could use them in the next life. Though the site, located in what is now modern-day Xian, was previously excavated in the 1990s, a previous search had not turned up the tea leaves.
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