Tea Trivia
Fascinating Facts
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There are four major tea types – black, green, white and oolong – but they all come from one plant, Camellia sinensis. It’s how the leaves are treated that the different types of tea are created.
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The art of reading tea leaves is called tasseography.
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Sherpa tea is a special blend of tea that can be brewed at high altitudes, where water boils at a lower temperature. It’s a blend of oolong and Darjeeling teas.
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In the late 1800s, green tea was the most popular tea in the United States. During World War II, green tea sources were unavailable. Americans began importing tea from India, which produced black tea. After the war, black tea was the most popular tea.
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Tea used to be very expensive. It was kept in a locked tea chest in the parlor. The lady of the house was responsible for the tea and was often the only person with the key for the lock.
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For centuries, tea was used only as a medicine. It took almost 3,000 years for it to become an everyday drink.
Pro Tips
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Always use fresh water when making tea. Water that has been boiled previously has lost oxygen which can make your tea taste flat.
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Loose tea remains good for about two years, provided you keep it away from light and moisture.
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Tea absorbs moisture, so it’s important to store loose tea or tea bags in a sealed container.
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Lemon and milk shouldn’t be used in the same cup of tea because the lemon will curdle the milk.
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Tea used to be very expensive. It was kept in a locked tea chest in the parlor. The lady of the house was responsible for the tea and was often the only person with the key for the lock.
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Tea strainers or infusers allow tea leaves room to expand, producing a better quality tea.
BENEFITS OF TEA
Rich source of antioxidants
This prevents cell from damage. The detoxifying effect of these antioxidants protect cells from free radicals – the damage that can lead to blood clot formation and atherosclerosis.
Improves metabolism
Polyphenols which are a type of antioxidants have shown to increase calorie expenditure and reduce body fat.
Aids in prevention against chronic diseases
In a study it was found that regular tea consumption reduced the risk of dying from heart diseases, stroke and some cancers.
Catechin helps improve immunity.
Green tea contains catechin (a tannin) which aids prevention of hypertenison and obesity.
Source of Vitamins.
Green tea has more vitamins, particularly B1, B2 and C than other teas because it is hardly processed.
Evolution of Tea (Timeline)
Tea is discovered. It is said that a green tea leaf fell into Chinese Emperor mug of hot water. He tasted it and decided to continue having it.
Erh Ya (erstwhile Tea), is added to the Chinese dictionary for the first time. Demand for tea as medicine beverage rises in China.
Tea spreads from China to Japan as Japanese priests studying in China carried it back home.
Now called Kuang Ya, steps are defined for infusion and preparation.
Chinese gave tea its own character by called it Chia or Cha. In 780, first tea tax was introduced.
With the rise of Mongol empire, demand for tea plunged as they didn’t want their people to drink tea.
Ming dynasty succeeded Mongol empire. They were tea enthusiasts and promoted tea as popular products.
Japan’s shogun Yoshimasa encouraged tea drama, painting and ceremonies.
Europeans learn about tea by an author who credits the lengthy lives of Asians to their tea drinking.
Dutch East India Company imports the first shipments of tea to Western shores, marketing it to rich people as an exotic medicinal drink.
When Charles II takes a tea-drinking bride (Catherine Braganza of Portugal), tea becomes so sought after that alcohol consumption declines.
Russia extends tea as a regulated trade. In order to fill Russia’s tea demand, traders and three hundred camels travel 11,000 miles to and from China, which takes sixteen months.
English tea drinking hits a rate of 2 pounds per capita annually, a rate that increases by five times over the next 10 years.
The East India Company starts the first tea plantations in Assam, India.
The first tea plants, imports from China and India, are cultivated on a trial basis in Sri Lanka (Ceylon).
Tea is planted in and about Darjeeling, India.
Over 90% of tea in Britain were still being imported from China
Englishman Richard Blechynden creates iced tea during a heat wave at the St Louis World Fair. Green tea and Formosan (Taiwanese) tea outsells black tea by five times in the U.S.
The tea industry did not end when the British left India. In fact, the tea market in India has been growing ever since.
There are as many as 43,293 tea gardens across the whole of Assam, 62,213 tea gardens in the Nilgiris and 85 tea gardens in Darjeeling
