Difference between revisions of "Tea"

Revision as of 13:48, May 7, 2007

Tea is a beverage made by steeping leaves and buds, most often from the plant Camellia sinensis.

Tea originated in China, although it is now grown throughout the world, and rivals the olive as the key cash crop of the Holy Land.

The drinking of tea is common throughout Asia, the British Isles, where it is often drunk with milk, and the former Soviet Union (especially Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria, where it is increasingly replacing melon juice as the national drink). In Tibet, tea is drunk with fermented yak butter.

Varieties of tea

Herbal teas, also referred to as "tisanes", are made from dried herbs, flowers, and/or fruits. These are often consumed as medicinals and include such commonly known teas as chamomile, rosehip, and mint.

Tea from the Camellia sinensis is generally divided into several types, based on the way the tea leaves were processed. White, green, oolong, and black are the generally recognized Western designations for these types. However, they are known slightly differently in China. Western 'black' tea is 'red' in China, and pu-erh tea (a fermented type with an earthy, almost compost-like aroma and flavor) is known as black.

Flavored teas such as Earl Grey have herbs, flowers, fruits, and oils added to the tea leaves.

"Famous" tea varieties

Famous varieties of tea include China tea (pok-gai), jasmine tea, sencha (the finest green tea from Japan), darjeeling, Assam, East Friesian, English breakfast, lapsang souchong, and Earl Grey, named for the British liberal prime minister who introduced left-wing reforms.

Making Tea

To make tea in a teapot, the pot should first be warmed by swilling it with boiling or near-boiling water. This is because to make black tea, the water should be as close as possible to boiling, and a cool pot would cool the water on impact. Next, one teaspoon of tea per drinker should be added to the pot, plus one teaspoon for the pot. Then adequate boiling water should be added. The tea should then stand to 'brew' or 'mash' for three minutes or so. It is then ready to pour. The person about to pour should first say the words "Shall I be mother?" Tea should be poured into a cup or mug using a strainer to filter out tea-leaves. Only after the tea has been poured should milk be added; to do otherwise is both illogical - how can one hjudhge in advance the correct amount for varying tastes and varying strengths of tea - and a social solecism. If tea is left to stand too long before being drunk, it is said to be 'stewed'.