At a time when a tiny card can facilitate payments of all kind, it might seem strange that centuries ago, people used ‘tea’ as a mode of payment. But yes, some actually did!
Tea money or tea bricks were used as means of payment in countries including China, Siberia, Mongolia, Russia and Tibet between the 9th and 20th centuries. They were leaves and stalks of tea plants, finely ground into brick forms of various sizes. They were also stamped with values that varied, according to the quality of the tea.
In case of smaller transactions, the bricks were broken, and pieces of it given instead. The demand for these edible currencies was so high, that swords, horses, and other valuable properties were sometimes given in exchange for a certain number of bricks.
Historians note that most of the tea bricks were made in China, and carried to other countries on camels and yaks. The popular belief is that the bricks were consumed in times of hunger, and also brewed as medicine.