User:Phil Sandifer/Tea

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Tea leaves in a gaiwan.
Tea leaves in a gaiwan.
A tea bush.
A tea bush.

A total of 3,200,000 tonnes of tea were produced worldwide in 2004 FAO figures.

Contents

[edit] Cultivation

A Malaysian Tea Plantation
A Malaysian Tea Plantation

In the wild, the tea tree may grow from 5 to 15 m, and sometimes even to 30 m[1]. The wild distribution is in the foothills of the Himalayas, stretching from northeast India to southwest China[1].

World tea production by country in 2004, according to Food and Agriculture Organization estimates.
World tea production by country in 2004, according to Food and Agriculture Organization estimates.

Tea grows wild in subtropical monsoon climates with wet and hot summers and relatively cold and dry winters.[2]

[edit] Blending and additives

Main article: Tea blending and additives

[edit] Content of Tea

  • Caffeine: An average serving of tea contains only 1/2 to 1/3 of caffeine of the same serving size of coffee. One of the more confusing aspects of caffeine content is the fact that coffee contains less caffeine (1.5%) than tea (2.5% - 4.5%) when measured in its dry form.[2] [3]

[edit] Tea origin and early history in Asia

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The cradle of the tea plant is in southeast Asia. Spontaneous (wild) growth of the assamica variant is observed in area ranging from Chinese province Yunnan to the northern part of Myanmar and Assam region of India. The variant sinensis grows naturally in eastern and southeastern regions of China. [3] Recent studies and occurrence of hybrids of the two types in wider area extending over mentioned regions suggest the place of origin of tea is in an area consisting of the northern part of Myanmar and the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China. [4]

[edit] Tea creation myths

In one popular Chinese story, Shennong, the legendary Emperor of China, inventor of agriculture and Chinese medicine, was on a journey about five thousand years ago. The emperor, known for his wisdom in the ways of science, believed that the safest way to drink water was by first boiling it. One day he noticed some leaves had fallen into his boiling water. The ever inquisitive and curious monarch took a sip of the brew and was pleasantly surprised by its flavour and its restorative properties. Variant of the legend tells that the emperor tried medical properties of various herbs on himself, some of them poisonous, and found tea works as an antidote. [5] Shennong is also mentioned in Lu Yu's Cha Jing, famous early work on the subject. [6]

A Chinese legend, which spread along with buddhism, Bodhidharma is credited with discovery of tea. Bodhidharma, a semi-legendary Buddhist monk, founder of the Chan school of Buddhism, journeyed to China. He became angered because he was falling asleep during meditation, so he cut off his eyelids. Tea bushes sprung from the spot where his eyelids hit the ground. [7] Sometimes, the second story is retold with Gautama Buddha in place of Bodhidharma [8]) In another variant of the first mentioned myth, Gautama Buddha discovered tea when some leaves had fallen into boiling water. [9]

[edit] China

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 It has been suggested that this page or section be merged into History of tea in China. (Discuss)

See also: History of tea in China


[edit] Industrial Revolution

Some scholars suggest the tea played a role in British industrial revolution. Afternoon tea possibly became a way to increase the number of hours labourers could work in factories; the stimulants in the tea, accompanied by sugary snacks would give workers energy to finish out the days work. Further, tea helped alleviate some of the consequences of the urbanisation that accompanied the industrial revolution: drinking tea required boiling one's water, thereby killing water-borne diseases like dysentery, cholera, and typhoid [4].

[edit] US Tea Preferences and Influence

To this day, coffee remains more popular than tea in the United States however the average US citizen consumes roughly 7.8 gallons of tea a year as of 2000 [5].

[edit] Iced Tea

Sweet Tea, sometimes known as Southern Table Wine, is tea brewed very strong with a large amount of sugar, typically 1.5 - 2.5 cups, added while the tea is still hot. The mixture of sugar and tea is then diluted with water and served over ice and garnished with lemon. Sometimes the diluted mixture is allowed to cool to room temperature other times the sugar and tea mixture is not diluted at all but rather poured hot over a full tumbler of ice to cool and dilute it. The oldest printed recipe of sweet tea dates back to a community cookbook "Housekeeping in Old Virginia", by Marion Cabell Tyree, published in 1879 [6].

An FDA survey revealed high levels of coliform bacteria (from fecal matter) in the tubing that goes from the reservoir to the spigot [7] in many of these urns.

[edit] Tibet

Butter, milk, salt, and sugar are added to brewed tea and churned to form a hot drink called Po cha in Tibet. The concoction is also somtimes called cha-su-mar, mainly in Kham, or Eastern Tibet. Traditionally, the drink is made with a domestic brick tea and yak's milk, then mixed in a churn for several minutes. Using a generic black tea, milk and butter, and shaking or blending work well too, although the unique taste of yak milk is difficult to replicate. (see recipe)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Arcimovicova p. 43. See also a photo of an exceptionally old and big tea tree called "King tea plant" (taken by SMČ tea expedition, 1997).
  2. ^ Arcimovicova p. 46
  3. ^ Yamamoto p. 2
  4. ^ Yamamoto p. 4
  5. ^ Chow p. 19-20 (Czech edition); also Arcimovicova p. 9, Evans p. 2 and others
  6. ^ Lu Ju p. 29-30 (Czech edition)
  7. ^ Chow p. 20-21
  8. ^ Evans p. 3
  9. ^ Okakura


  • Jana Arcimovičová, Pavel Valíček (1998): Vůně čaje, Start Benešov. ISBN 8-090-20059-1 (in Czech)
  • T. Yamamoto, M Kim, L R Juneja (editors): Chemistry and Applications of Green Tea, CRC Press, ISBN 0-849-34006-3
  • Lu Yu (陆羽): Cha Jing (茶经) (The classical book on tea). References are to Czech translation of modern-day editon (1987) by Olga Lomová (translator): Kniha o čaji. Spolek milců čaje, Praha, 2002. (in Czech)
  • John C. Evans (1992): Tea in China: The History of China's National Drink,Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-28049-5
  • Kit Chow, Ione Kramer (1990): All the Tea in China, China Books & Periodicals Inc. ISBN 0835121941 References are to Czech translation by Michal Synek (1998): Všechny čaje Číny, DharmaGaia Praha. ISBN 80-85905-48-5
  • Stephan Reimertz (1998): Vom Genuß des Tees : Eine eine heitere Reise durch alte Landschaften, ehrwürdige Traditionen und moderne Verhältnisse, inklusive einer kleinen Teeschule (In German)
  • Jane Pettigrew (2002), A Social History of Tea
  • Roy Moxham (2003), Tea: Addiction, Exploitation, and Empire

[edit] External links

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[edit] General

[edit] Online books

[edit] Tea history, culture and local specifics