Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found evidence of the oldest tea in the world buried with a Chinese emperor. 

A bunch of tea packets were found in the Han Yangling Mausoleum in Xi'an, Western China, which houses the tombs of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty and his wife. 

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Emperor Jing, personal name Liu Qi, was the sixth emperor who ruled the Chinese Han Dynasty from 157 to 141 BC. Research shows that the emperor loved the drink so much that he wanted to be buried with it, along with wooden tools, various ceramic vessels, an 'army' of ceramic animals, and real life-sized chariots with horses. 

The tea leaves were found to be of the highest quality. The report, published in online journal Scientific Reports, explained that tea buds or 'tips' are the small, unopened leaves of the tea plant. Tips are of better quality than larger tea leaves, so it makes sense that Imperial tea are only made of up the tea buds and the two closest leaves. 

Almost all of the plants found in Emperor Jing's tomb were tea buds. 

The discovery surpassed the oldest physical evidence of tea in China's Northern Song Dynasty from 960 to 1127.

"The identification of the tea found in the emperor's tomb complex gives us a rare glimpse into very ancient traditions which shed light on the origins of one of the world's favourite beverages," said Professor Dorian Fuller, Director of the International Center for Chinese Heritage and Archaeology in London. 

Millet, rice, and chenopods were also found in Emperor Jing's tomb. 

The site was excavated from 1990 to 2005, but the findings are only coming to light. 

The emperor's tomb was found in Xi'an, formerly Chang'an (the city where the Silk Road starts), but data shows that tea had arrived in the Tibetan Plateu by 1800 before present. 

"These data indicate that tea was part of trade of luxury products, alongside textiles, that moved along the Silk Road around 2000 years ago, and were traded up into Tibet," the report said. 

Tagschinese culture, world's oldest tea, Han Dynasty, Northern Song dynasty discoveries, Emperor Jing