ABSTRACT
Originally tea was made as a decoction from what afterwards became the tea plant of commerce. The priests first drank tea for the effect it had in keeping them wakeful during their long meditations. Eventually it gained common favor as a delicious beverage. Sculptured figures of Daruma often show him holding a teacup. The legend has been handed down that Daruma plucked his eyebrows and dropped them upon the ground, from which sprang up a plant. Brewing a drink from the leaves, he managed to sustain himself on this "eyebrow tea" during the nine years he spent gazing in meditation at a blank wall. His ample waistline is hardly in keeping with this legend I
Tea is drunk many times daily by the Japanese, always un6S
