Twinings History of Tea Mug No 1 SHEN, a generous over sized porcelain mug with the first illustration from the Twinings History of Tea edition by young artist Fanny Shorter The history behind this tea mug design; Tea was mythically discovered by the Chinese emperor Shen Nung. Leaves from a tea plant blew into his pot of boiling water & Tea as a hot beverage was born.