Tea: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Brewed drink made from tea leaves}} |
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{{Cleanup|date=January 2010}} |
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{{About|the beverage made from Camellia sinensis|other uses}} |
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{{Unreliable sources|date=July 2009}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}} |
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{{Use British English|date=January 2014}} |
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{{Infobox beverage |
{{Infobox beverage |
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|name = Tea |
| name = Tea |
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|original_name = |
| original_name = 茶 |
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|type = Hot or cold beverage |
| type = Hot or cold beverage |
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| image = Longjing tea steeping in gaiwan.jpg |
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|bgcolor = Sienna |
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| caption = [[Longjing tea|Longjing]] [[green tea]] being infused in a ''[[gaiwan]]'' |
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|image = [[Image:Tea leaves steeping in a zhong čaj 05.jpg|225px]] |
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| origin = China<ref>{{cite news |first=Thomas |last=Fuller |title=A Tea From the Jungle Enriches a Placid Village |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/world/asia/21tea.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York |page=A8 |date=21 April 2008 |access-date=23 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214133259/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/world/asia/21tea.html |archive-date=14 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> |
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|caption = ''Green Tea leaves in a [[China|Chinese]] [[gaiwan]].'' |
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| introduced = First recorded in China in 59 BC, possibly originated earlier{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=29–30}} |
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|origin = [[China]] |
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| color = |
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|introduced = approx. 10th century BC.<ref name="encarta"/> |
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|color = |
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}} |
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'''Tea''' is an aromatic [[drink|beverage]] prepared by pouring hot or [[boiling water]] over [[Curing (vegetable preservation)|cured]] or fresh leaves of ''[[Camellia sinensis]]'', an [[evergreen]] [[shrub]] native to [[East Asia]] which probably originated in the borderlands of [[Southwest China|southwestern China]] and [[Geography of Myanmar|northern Myanmar]].<ref name=Yamamoto /><ref>{{cite book|author1=Mary Lou Heiss|author2=Robert J. Heiss|title=The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide|url=https://archive.org/details/storyofteacultur0000heis|quote=Camellia sinensis originated in southeast Asia, specifically around the intersection of 29th parallel and 98th meridian, the point of confluence of the lands of southwest China and Tibet|url-access=registration}}, north Burma, and northeast India, citing Mondal (2007) p. 519</ref>{{sfn|Heiss|Heiss|2007|pp=6–7}} Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of ''[[Camellia taliensis]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sevencups.com/shop/lao-shu-dian-hong-old-tree-yunnan|title=Laoshu Dianhong (Old Tree Yunnan)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://teatrekker.com/product/yunnan-da-bai-silver-needles/|title=Yunnan da Bai Silver Needles – Tea Trekker}}</ref><ref>Liu ''et al.'' (2012)</ref> After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world.<ref name="Macfarlane">{{cite book |first1=Alan |last1=Macfarlane |author-link=Alan Macfarlane |last2=Macfarlane |first2=Iris |author-link2=Iris Macfarlane |title=The Empire of Tea |publisher=The Overlook Press |isbn=978-1-58567-493-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/empireoftearemar00macf/page/32 32] |year=2004 |url=https://archive.org/details/empireoftearemar00macf/page/32}}</ref> There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and [[astringent]] flavour,<ref name="ody">{{cite book |author1=Penelope Ody |title=Complete Guide to Medicinal Herbs |publisher=Dorling Kindersley Publishing |location=New York |year= 2000|page=48 |isbn=978-0-7894-6785-0 }}</ref> while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy [[Note (perfumery)|notes]]. Tea has a [[Stimulant|stimulating]] effect in humans, primarily due to its [[caffeine]] content.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cappelletti |first=Simone |last2=Piacentino |first2=Daria |last3=Sani |first3=Gabriele |last4=Aromatario |first4=Mariarosaria |title=Caffeine: cognitive and physical performance enhancer or psychoactive drug? |journal=Current Neuropharmacology |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=71–88 |date=January 2015 |pmid=26074744 |pmc=4462044 |doi=10.2174/1570159X13666141210215655 |issn=1570-159X}}</ref> |
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[[Image:HCAM13.jpg|right|thumb|220px|A tea bush.]] |
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[[Image:Tea plantation picking.JPG|right|thumb|220px|Plantation workers picking tea in [[Tanzania]].]] |
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[[Image:Koeh-025.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Tea plant (''Camellia sinensis'') from ''[[Köhler's Medicinal Plants]]''.]] |
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[[Image:Qi Lan Oolong tea leaf.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Loose dried tea leaves]] |
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An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the third century AD, in a medical text written by Chinese physician [[Hua Tuo]].<ref>[[#Martin|Martin]], p. 29: "beginning in the third century CE, references to tea seem more credible, in particular those dating to the time of Hua T'o, a highly respected physician and surgeon"</ref> It was popularised as a recreational drink during the Chinese [[Tang dynasty]], and tea drinking subsequently spread to other East Asian countries. [[Jesuit China missions#The arrival of Jesuits|Portuguese priests]] and merchants introduced it to Europe during the 16th century.<ref name="caff" /> During the 17th century, drinking tea became fashionable among the [[English people|English]], who started to plant tea on a large scale in [[British Raj|British India]]. |
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'''Tea''' is the [[agricultural]] product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the ''[[Camellia sinensis]]'' plant, prepared and cured by various methods. "Tea" also refers to the aromatic [[beverage]] prepared from the cured leaves by combination with hot or boiling water,<ref>Webster's Third New International Dictionary</ref> and is the common name for the ''Camellia sinensis'' plant itself. Although tea contains various types of polyphenols, "contrary to widespread belief, tea does not contain tannic acid." <ref>{{cite journal |author=Hamilton-Miller JM |title=Antimicrobial properties of tea (''Camellia sinensis L.'') |journal=Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. |volume=39 |issue=11 |pages=2375–7 |date=1 November 1995|pmid=8585711 |pmc=162950 |url=http://aac.asm.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=8585711 }}</ref> |
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The term [[herbal tea]] refers to drinks not made from ''Camellia sinensis''. They are the infusions of fruit, leaves, or [[Plant anatomy|other plant parts]], such as [[steeping|steeps]] of [[Rose hip|rosehip]], [[chamomile]], or [[rooibos]]. These may be called ''tisanes'' or ''herbal infusions'' to prevent confusion with tea made from the tea plant. |
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After [[water]], tea is the most widely-consumed beverage in the world.<ref name="Macfarlane">{{cite book|author=Alan Macfarlane|coauthors=Iris Macfarlane|title=The Empire of Tea|publisher=The Overlook Press|isbn=1-58567-493-1|pages=32|year=2004}}</ref> It has a cooling, slightly bitter, [[astringent]] flavour which many enjoy.<ref name="ody">{{cite book |author=Penelope Ody, |title=Complete Guide to Medicinal Herbs |publisher=Dorling Kindersley Publishing |location=New York, NY |year= 2000|pages=48 |isbn=0-7894-6785-2 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> |
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== Etymology == |
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There are at least six varieties of tea; [[white tea|white]], [[yellow tea|yellow]], [[green tea|green]], [[oolong tea|oolong]], [[orange tea|orange tea]][[black tea|black]] and [[ pu-erh tea|pu-erh]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.starchefs.com/features/tea/html/types.shtml |title=Tea types and tea varieties |publisher=Starchefs.com |date= |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> of which the most commonly found on the market are [[white tea|white]], [[green tea|green]], [[oolong tea|oolong]] and [[black tea|black]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Posted by Teamaster on November 16, 2005 04:21 PM |url=http://www.about-tea.com/2005/11/the_four_types_of_tea_1.html |title=Four Types of Tea |publisher=About-tea.com |date=2005-11-16 |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> All tea are made from the same bushes but processed differently, and, in the case of fine white tea, grown differently. [[Pu-erh tea]], a post-fermented tea, is also often used medicinally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.starchefs.com/features/tea/html/types.shtml |title=Tea types and tea varieties |publisher=Starchefs.com |date= |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> |
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{{main|Etymology of tea}} |
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The term "[[herbal tea]]" usually refers to an [[infusion]] or [[tisane]] of leaves, [[flowers]], [[fruit]], [[herbs]] or other plant material that contains no ''Camellia sinensis''.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/herbal%20tea Dictionary.com search Herbal tea]. Retrieved February 15, 2007.</ref> The term "red tea" refers to an infusion made from either black tea (mainly in Chinese, Korean, Japanese and other East Asian languages) or the [[South Africa]]n [[rooibos]] plant (containing no ''Camellia sinensis''). |
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The [[etymology]] of the various words for ''tea'' reflects the history of transmission of tea drinking culture and trade from China to countries around the world.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp= 262–264}} Nearly all of the words for tea worldwide fall into three broad groups: ''te'', ''cha'' and ''chai'', present in English as ''tea'', ''cha'' or ''char'', and ''chai''. The earliest of the three to enter English is ''cha'', which came in the 1590s via the Portuguese, who traded in [[Macao]] and picked up the [[Cantonese]] pronunciation of the word.<ref name=oed>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=tea&allowed_in_frame=0|title=tea|publisher=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p= 262}} The more common ''tea'' form arrived in the 17th century via the Dutch, who acquired it either indirectly from the Malay ''teh'', or directly from the ''tê'' pronunciation in [[Min Chinese]].<ref name=oed /> The third form ''chai'' (meaning "spiced tea") originated from a northern Chinese pronunciation of ''cha'', which travelled overland to Central Asia and [[Persia]] where it picked up a Persian ending ''yi''. The Chinese word for tea itself was likely ultimately derived from the non-Sinitic languages of the botanical homeland of the tea plant in southwest China (or [[Burma]]), possibly from an archaic [[Austroasiatic languages|Austro-Asiatic]] root word *''la'', meaning "leaf".{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p= 266}} |
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==Traditional Chinese Tea Cultivation and Technologies== |
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''[[Camellia sinensis]]'' is an [[evergreen]] plant that grows mainly in [[Tropical climate|tropical]] and [[Subtropics|sub-tropical]] climates. Nevertheless, some varieties can also tolerate [[oceanic climate|marine climates]] and are cultivated as far north as [[Pembrokeshire]] in the British mainland<ref name="autogenerated1">Western Mail Online, 10 October 2009. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/10/03/duo-plant-tea-in-wales-91466-24840816/</ref> and [[Washington]] in the [[United States]].<ref>[http://www.snakeriver.org/wscpr/WSCPRBook.cfm Compendium of Washington Agriculture, ''Tea'']</ref> |
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== Origin and history == |
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[[Image:Organic mountain grown tea leaf.jpg|thumb|Leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', the tea plant.]] |
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{{further|History of tea|History of tea in China}} |
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In addition to a [[hardiness zone|zone 8]] climate or warmer, tea plants require at least 50 inches of rainfall a year and prefer [[Soil pH|acidic soils]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Camellias: A Practical Gardening Guide |last=Rolfe |first=Jim |coauthors=Yvonne Cave |year=2003 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=0881925772 }}</ref> Traditional Chinese Tea Cultivation and Studies believes that high-quality tea plants are cultivated at elevations of up to {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=off}}: at these heights, the plants grow more slowly and acquire a better flavour.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tea Cuisine: A New Approach to Flavoring Contemporary and Traditional Dishes |last=Pruess |first=Joanna |year=2006 |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=1592287417 }}</ref> |
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===Botanical origin=== |
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Only the top 1-2 inches of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called ''flushes''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Elizabeth S. Hayes |title=Spices and Herbs: Lore and Cookery |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=htsIVCwRsEcC&dq= |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |year=1980 |isbn=0486240266|accessdate=2008-09-20 |pages=74}}</ref> A plant will grow a new flush every seven to ten days during the growing season. |
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[[File:Camellia sinensis - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-025.jpg|thumb|Tea plant (''Camellia sinensis'') from ''[[Köhler's Medicinal Plants]]'', 1897]] |
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A tea plant will grow into a [[tree]] if left undisturbed, but cultivated plants are pruned to waist height for ease of plucking.<ref name="Tea Cultivation">[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/585098/tea Britannica Tea Cultivation]. Retrieved June, 2007.</ref> |
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Tea plants are native to East Asia and the probable center of origin of tea is near the source of the [[Irrawaddy River]] from where it spread out fan-wise into southeast China, Indo-China and [[Assam]]. Thus, the natural home of the tea plant is considered to be within the comparatively small fan-shaped area between [[Nagaland]], [[Manipur]] and [[Mizoram]] along the [[Myanmar|Burma]] frontier in the west, through [[China]] as far as the [[Zhejiang|Zhejiang Province]] in the east, and from this line generally south through the hills to Burma and [[Thailand]] to [[Vietnam]]. The west–east axis indicated above is about 2,400 km long extending from longitude 95°-120°E. The north–south axis covers about 1,920 km, starting from the northern part of Burma, latitude 29°N passing through [[Yunnan]], [[Tonkin|Tongkin]], Thailand, [[Laos]] and on to Annan, reaching latitude 11°N.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saikia |first=Gautam Kumar |date=19 September 2021 |title=Origin And Distribution Of The Tea Plant |url=https://teaorb.com/en-us/blog/origin-of-tea |website=teaorb.com}}</ref> |
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Two principal varieties are used: the small-leaved China plant (''C. sinensis sinensis''), used for most Chinese, Formosan and Japanese teas (but not [[Pu-erh]]); and the large-leaved Assam plant (''C. sinensis assamica''), used in most Indian and other teas (but not [[Darjeeling tea|Darjeeling]]). Within these botanical varieties, there are many strains and modern Indian clonal varieties. Leaf size is the chief criterion for the classification of tea plants:<ref name=Mondal519>{{Harvnb|Mondal|2007|p=519}}</ref> tea is classified into (1) Assam type, characterized by the largest leaves; (2) China type, characterized by the smallest leaves; and (3) Cambod, characterized by leaves of intermediate size.<ref name=Mondal519/> |
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Chinese (small-leaf) type tea (''C. sinensis'' var. ''sinensis'') may have originated in southern China possibly with hybridization of unknown wild tea relatives. However, since there are no known wild populations of this tea, its origin is speculative.<ref name="Meegahakumbura 1"/><ref name="Meegahakumbura 2"/> |
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==Processing and classification== |
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{{Main|Tea processing}} |
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[[Image:Teaprocessing-small.png|thumb|right|Tea leaf processing methods]] |
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A tea's type is determined by the processing which it undergoes. Leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'' soon begin to wilt and [[Oxidation|oxidize]], if not dried quickly after picking. The leaves turn progressively darker as their [[chlorophyll]] breaks down and [[tannin]]s are released. This process, ''enzymatic oxidation'', is called ''fermentation'' in the tea industry, although it is not a true fermentation. It is not caused by micro-organisms, and is not an anaerobic process. The next step in processing is to stop [[oxidation]] at a predetermined stage by heating, which deactivates the [[enzyme]]s responsible. With black tea, this step is executed simultaneously with drying. |
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Given their genetic differences forming distinct [[clade]]s, Chinese Assam-type tea (''C. sinensis'' var. ''assamica'') may have two different parentages – one being found in southern [[Yunnan]] ([[Xishuangbanna]], [[Pu'er City]]) and the other in western Yunnan ([[Lincang]], [[Baoshan, Yunnan|Baoshan]]). Many types of Southern Yunnan Assam tea have been hybridized with the closely related species ''[[Camellia taliensis]]''. Unlike Southern Yunnan Assam tea, Western Yunnan Assam tea shares many genetic similarities with Indian Assam-type tea (also ''C. sinensis'' var. ''assamica''). Thus, Western Yunnan Assam tea and Indian Assam tea both may have originated from the same parent plant in the area where southwestern China, Indo-Burma, and Tibet meet. However, as the Indian Assam tea shares no [[haplotype]]s with Western Yunnan Assam tea, Indian Assam tea is likely to have originated from an independent domestication. Some Indian Assam tea appears to have hybridized with the species ''[[Camellia pubicosta]]''.<ref name="Meegahakumbura 1">{{cite journal |last1=Meegahakumbura |first1=MK |last2=Wambulwa |first2=MC |last3=Thapa |first3=KK |display-authors=etal |year=2016 |title=Indications for three independent domestication events for the tea plant (''Camellia sinensis'' (L.) O. Kuntze) and new insights into the origin of tea germplasm in China and India revealed by nuclear microsatellites |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=11 |issue=5 |page=e0155369 |pmid=27218820 |pmc=4878758 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0155369 |bibcode=2016PLoSO..1155369M|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Meegahakumbura 2">{{cite journal |vauthors=Meegahakumbura MK, Wambulwa MC, Li MM, Thapa KK, Sun YS, Möller M, Xu JC, Yang JB, Liu J, Liu BY, Li DZ, Gao LM |display-authors=3 |date=2018 |title=Domestication origin and breeding history of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) in China and India based on nuclear microsatellites and cpDNA sequence data |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |volume=8 |page=2270 |pmid=29422908 |pmc=5788969 |doi= 10.3389/fpls.2017.02270|doi-access=free }}</ref> |
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Without careful moisture and temperature control during manufacture and packaging, the tea will grow [[Fungus|fungi]]. The fungus causes real fermentation that will contaminate the tea with toxic and sometimes [[carcinogen]]ic substances, as well as off-flavors, rendering the tea unfit for consumption. |
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Assuming a generation of 12 years, Chinese small-leaf tea is estimated to have diverged from Assam tea around 22,000 years ago, while Chinese Assam tea and Indian Assam tea diverged 2,800 years ago. The divergence of Chinese small-leaf tea and Assam tea would correspond to the last [[Ice age|glacial maximum]].<ref name="Meegahakumbura 1"/><ref name="Meegahakumbura 2"/> |
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Tea is traditionally classified based on the techniques with which it is produced and processed.<ref name=LiuTong>{{cite book |author=Liu Tong |title=Chinese tea |publisher= China Intercontinental Press|location=Beijing|year=2005|pages=137 |isbn=7-5085-0835-1|oclc= |doi=}}</ref> |
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*[[White tea]]: Wilted and unoxidized |
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*[[Yellow tea]]: Unwilted and unoxidized, but allowed to yellow |
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*[[Green tea]]: Unwilted and unoxidized |
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*[[Oolong]]: Wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized |
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*[[Black tea]]: Wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized |
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*[[Post-fermented tea]]: Green tea that has been allowed to ferment/compost |
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===Early tea drinking=== |
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[[File:Shinno (Shennong) derivative.jpg|thumb|upright|A 19th-century Japanese painting depicting [[Shennong]]: Chinese legends credit Shennong with the invention of tea.<ref name="laura2" />]] |
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[[Image:Gorskii 03992u.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Tea weighing station north of [[Batumi]], [[Russian Empire]] before 1915]] |
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{{Main|Tea blending and additives}} |
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People in ancient East Asia ate tea for centuries, perhaps even [[millennia]], before ever consuming it as a beverage. They would nibble on the leaves raw, add them to [[soups]] or [[Leaf vegetable|greens]], or [[ferment]] them and chew them as [[areca nut]] is chewed.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tale of Tea: A Comprehensive History of Tea: From Prehistoric Times to the Present Day |author=George Van Driem |year=2019 |author-link1=George van Driem |publisher=BRILL |language=en |isbn=978-9004386259}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2022}} |
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Almost all teas in bags and most other teas sold in [[Western world|the West]] are blends. Blending may occur in the tea-planting area (as in the case of [[Assam tea|Assam]]), or teas from many areas may be blended. The aim is to obtain better taste, higher price, or both, as a more expensive, better-tasting tea may cover the inferior taste of cheaper varieties. |
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Tea drinking may have begun in the region of [[Yunnan]], where it was used for medicinal purposes. It is believed that in [[Sichuan]], "people began to boil tea leaves for consumption into a concentrated liquid without the addition of other leaves or herbs, thereby using tea as a bitter yet stimulating drink, rather than as a medicinal concoction."{{sfn|Heiss|Heiss|2007|pp=6–7}} |
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Some teas are not pure varieties, but have been enhanced through additives or special processing. Tea is highly receptive to inclusion of various aromas; this may cause problems in processing, transportation and storage, but also allows for the design of an almost endless range of scented and flavored variants, such as [[bergamot orange|bergamot]] ([[Earl Grey tea|Earl Grey]]), [[vanilla]], [[caramel (aroma)|caramel]], and many others. |
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Chinese legends attribute the invention of tea to the mythical [[Shennong]] (in central and northern China) in 2737 BC, although evidence suggests that tea drinking may have been introduced from the southwest of China (Sichuan/Yunnan area).<ref name="laura2">{{Citation| last=Yee| first=L.K.| title=Tea's Wonderful History| publisher=The Chinese Historical and Cultural Project| quote=year 1996–2012| url=http://www.chcp.org/tea.html| access-date=17 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020803115304/http://chcp.org/tea.html |archive-date=3 August 2002 }}</ref> The earliest written records of tea come from China. The word ''tú'' {{Wikt-lang|zh|荼}} appears in the ''[[Classic of Poetry|Shijing]]'' and other ancient texts to signify a kind of "bitter vegetable" ({{lang|zh|苦菜}}), and it is possible that it referred to many different plants such as [[sow thistle]], [[chicory]], or [[Polygonum|smartweed]],{{sfn|Benn|2015|p=22}} as well as tea.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=264–65}} In the ''[[Chronicles of Huayang]]'', it was recorded that the [[Ba (state)|Ba]] people in Sichuan presented ''tu'' to the [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] king. The [[Qin (state)|Qin]] later conquered the state of [[Ba (state)|Ba]] and its neighbour [[Shu (state)|Shu]], and according to the 17th century scholar [[Gu Yanwu]] who wrote in ''Ri Zhi Lu'' ({{lang|zh|日知錄}}): "It was after the Qin had taken Shu that they learned how to drink tea."{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=29–30}} Another possible early reference to tea is found in a letter written by the [[Qin dynasty]] general Liu Kun who requested that some "real tea" to be sent to him.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NT8J5qDjABIC&pg=PR18 |title=All the Tea in China |author=Kit Boey Chow |author2=Ione Kramer |pages=2–3 |publisher=Sinolingua |date=1990 |isbn=978-0-8351-2194-1 |access-date=21 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831072957/https://books.google.com/books?id=NT8J5qDjABIC&pg=PR18&lpg=PR18 |archive-date=31 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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==Content== |
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Tea contains [[catechins]], a type of [[antioxidant]]. In a freshly-picked tea leaf, catechins can compose up to 30% of the dry weight. Catechins are highest in concentration in white and green teas, while black tea has substantially fewer due to its oxidative preparation.<ref>{{cite web|author=Hamza Nassrallah |url=http://www.wondersoftea.com/2009/01/which-tea-is-healthiest.html |title=Which Tea is Healthiest? |publisher=Wonders of Tea |date=2009-01-02 |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/132/4/785 |title=Journal of Nutrition - Antioxidant Activity of Black Tea vs. Green Tea |publisher=Jn.nutrition.org |date= |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> Research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has suggested that levels of antioxidants in green and black tea do not differ greatly, with green tea having an [[Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity]] (ORAC) of 1253 and black tea an ORAC of 1128 (measured in μmolTE/100g).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ars.usda.gov%2FSP2UserFiles%2FPlace%2F12354500%2FData%2FORAC%2FORAC07.pdf&date=2009-05-23 |title=Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods – 2007 |publisher=Webcitation.org |date=2009-05-23 |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> Tea also contains [[theanine]] and the stimulant [[caffeine]] at about 3% of its dry weight, translating to between 30 mg and 90 mg per 8 oz (250 ml) cup depending on type, brand<ref>{{cite book |author=Bennett Alan Weinberg and Bonnie K. Bealer |title=The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=YdpL2YCGLVYC&dq= |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=0415927226 |accessdate=2008-09-20 |pages=228}}</ref> and brewing method.<ref>M. B. Hicks, Y-H. P. Hsieh, L. N. Bell, ''Tea preparation and its influence on methylxanthine concentration'', Food Research International 29(3-4) 325-330 (1996)</ref> Tea also contains small amounts of [[theobromine]] and [[theophylline]],<ref>Graham H. N.; Green tea composition, consumption, and polyphenol chemistry; ''Preventive Medicine'' '''21'''(3):334-50 (1992)</ref> as well as [[fluoride]]{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}}, with certain types of [[Tea brick|brick tea]] made from old leaves and stems having the highest levels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VB5-3VKBHN2-4&_coverDate=02%2F01%2F1999&_alid=505422154&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_qd=1&_cdi=5917&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=384fb7d1f451df5241da51de8331e898 |title=Environmental Pollution: Fluoride contents in tea and soil from tea plantations and the release of fluoride into tea liquor during infusion |publisher=ScienceDirect |date= |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> |
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The earliest known physical evidence<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/archaeologists-discover-worlds-oldest-tea-buried-with-ancient-chinese-emperor-a6805171.html|title=Archaeologists discover world's oldest tea buried with ancient Chinese emperor|work=[[The Independent]]|publisher=Independent Print Limited|access-date=15 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008011801/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/archaeologists-discover-worlds-oldest-tea-buried-with-ancient-chinese-emperor-a6805171.html|archive-date=8 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> of tea was discovered in 2016 in the mausoleum of [[Emperor Jing of Han]] in [[Xi'an]], indicating that tea from the genus ''Camellia'' was drunk by [[Han dynasty]] emperors as early as the second century BC.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Earliest tea as evidence for one branch of the Silk Road across the Tibetan Plateau|volume=6|pages=18955|author=Houyuan Lu|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|doi=10.1038/srep18955|pmid=26738699|pmc=4704058| date=7 January 2016|display-authors=etal|bibcode=2016NatSR...618955L}}</ref> The Han dynasty work "The Contract for a Youth", written by [[Wang Bao]] in 59 BC,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://phys.org/news/2016-01-world-oldest-tea-chinese-emperor.html|title=World's oldest tea found in Chinese emperor's tomb|publisher=[[Phys.org]]|date=28 January 2016|quote=The oldest written reference to tea is from the year 59 BC.|access-date=22 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917190549/http://phys.org/news/2016-01-world-oldest-tea-chinese-emperor.html|archive-date=17 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> contains the first known reference to boiling tea. Among the tasks listed to be undertaken by the youth, the contract states that "he shall boil tea and fill the utensils" and "he shall buy tea at Wuyang".{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=29–30}} The first record of tea cultivation is dated to this period, during which tea was cultivated on Meng Mountain ({{lang|zh|蒙山}}) near [[Chengdu]].{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=30–31}} Another early credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century AD, in a medical text by the Chinese physician [[Hua Tuo]], who stated, "to drink bitter t'u constantly makes one think better."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AGaTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |title=The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug |author=Bennett Alan Weinberg, Bonnie K. Bealer |page=28 |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-92722-2 |access-date=7 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513051901/https://books.google.com/books?id=AGaTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28 |archive-date=13 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, before the [[Tang dynasty]], tea-drinking was primarily a southern Chinese practice centered in [[Jiankang]].{{sfn|Benn|2015|p=42}} Tea was disdained by the [[Northern and Southern dynasties|Northern dynasties]] aristocrats, who describe it as inferior to yogurt.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3qmwywEACAAJ&q=slaves'%20drink&pg=PA76 |title=The Jiankang Empire in Chinese and World History |author=Andrew Chittick |pages=75–76 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9780190937546}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PASE4LVLzQ0C&q=yogurt&pg=PA22 |title=Culture and Power in the Reconstitution of the Chinese Realm, 200–600 |editor1=Scott Pearce |editor2=Audrey G. Spiro |editor3=Patricia Buckley Ebrey |page=22 |publisher=Harvard University Asia Center |year=2001 |isbn=0-674-00523-6}}</ref> It became widely popular during the Tang dynasty, when it spread to Korea, [[Japan]], and Vietnam. ''[[The Classic of Tea]]'', a treatise on tea and its preparations, was written by the 8th century Chinese writer, [[Lu Yu]]. He was known to have influenced tea drinking on a large part in China.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |author=Miranda Brown |date=2 March 2022 |title=The Medieval Influencer Who Convinced the World to Drink Tea—Not Eat It |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/eating-tea? |website=Atlas Obscura}}</ref> |
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Dry tea has more caffeine by weight than coffee; nevertheless, more dried coffee is used than dry tea in preparing the beverage,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stashtea.com/caffeine.htm |title=Caffeine and Tea Information |publisher=Stash Tea |date= |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> which means that a cup of brewed tea contains significantly less caffeine than a cup of coffee of the same size. |
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===Developments=== |
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Tea has no [[carbohydrate]]s, [[Vegetable fats and oils|fat]], or [[protein]]. |
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[[File:Tea with ingredients.jpg|thumb|right|Tea with ingredients, China]] |
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Through the centuries, a variety of techniques for processing tea, and a number of different forms of tea, were developed. During the Tang dynasty, tea was steamed, then pounded and shaped into cake form,{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=39–41}} while in the [[Song dynasty]], loose-leaf tea was developed and became popular. During the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] and [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] dynasties, unoxidized tea leaves were first stirred in a hot dry pan, then rolled and air-dried, a process that stops the [[Redox|oxidation]] process that would have turned the leaves dark, thereby allowing tea to remain green. In the 15th century, [[oolong]] tea, in which the leaves are allowed to partially oxidize before being heated in the pan, was developed.{{sfn|Benn|2015|p=42}} Western tastes, however, favoured the fully oxidized [[black tea]], and the leaves were allowed to oxidize further. [[Yellow tea]] was an accidental discovery in the production of green tea during the Ming dynasty, when apparently careless practices allowed the leaves to turn yellow, which yielded a different flavour.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=118}} |
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==Origin and history== |
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According to {{Harvtxt|Mondal|2007|p=519}}: "''Camellia sinensis'' originated in [[southeast Asia]], specifically around the intersection of [[29th parallel north|latitude 29°N]] and [[98th meridian east|longitude 98°E]], the point of confluence of the lands of northeast India, north Burma, southwest China and Tibet. The plant was introduced to more than 52 countries, from this ‘centre of origin’." |
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===Worldwide spread=== |
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Based on morphological differences between the Assamese and Chinese varieties, botanists have long asserted a dual botanical origin for tea; however, statistical [[cluster analysis]], the same [[chromosome number]] (2n=30), easy [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridization]], and various types of intermediate hybrids and spontaneous [[polyploid]]s all appear to demonstrate a single place of origin for ''Camellia sinensis'' — the area including the northern part of [[Burma]], and [[Yunnan]] and [[Sichuan]] provinces of China.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Yamamoto|Kim|Juneja|1997|p=4}} "For a long time, botanists have asserted the dualism of tea origin from their observations that there exist distinct differences in the morphological characteristics between Assamese varieties and Chinese varieties. |
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{{See also|Arabic tea|Korean tea|Tea in Australia|Tea in France}} |
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[[File:Gorskii 03992u.jpg|thumb|left|Tea-weighing station north of [[Batumi]], [[Russian Empire]], before 1915]] |
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Tea was first introduced to Western priests and merchants in China during the 16th century, at which time it was termed ''chá''.<ref name="caff">{{cite book |author1=Bennett Alan Weinberg |author2=Bonnie K. Bealer |title=The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YdpL2YCGLVYC&pg=PA63 |year=2001 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-92722-2 |page=63 |access-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427034134/https://books.google.com/books?id=YdpL2YCGLVYC&pg=PA63 |archive-date=27 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The earliest European reference to tea, written as ''chiai'', came from ''Delle navigationi e viaggi'' written by Venetian [[Giovanni Battista Ramusio|Giambattista Ramusio]] in 1545.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=165}} The first recorded shipment of tea by a European nation was in 1607 when the Dutch East India Company moved a cargo of tea from [[Macau|Macao]] to Java, then two years later, the Dutch bought the first assignment of tea which was from [[Hirado, Nagasaki|Hirado]] in Japan to be shipped to Europe.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=106}} Tea became a fashionable drink in [[The Hague]] in the Netherlands, and the Dutch introduced the drink to [[Germany]], [[France]], and across the Atlantic to [[New Amsterdam]] (New York).{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=169}} |
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Hashimoto and Shimura reported that the differences in the morphological characteristics in tea plants are not necessarily the evidence of the dualism hypothesis from the researches using the statistical cluster analysis method. In recent investigations, it has also been made clear that both varieties have the same chromosome number (2n=30) and can be easily hybridized with each other. In addition, various types of intermediate hybrids or spontaneous polyploids of tea plants have been found in a wide area extending over the regions mentioned above. These facts may prove that the place of origin of ''Camellia sinensis'' is in the area including the northern part of the Burma, Yunnan, and Sichuan districts of China."</ref> According to this theory, tea plants in southeast Asia may have been the products of the 19th Century and 20th Century hybridizing experiments.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}<!--ref:Chan?--> |
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In 1567, Russian people came in contact with tea when the [[Cossacks|Cossack]] [[Ataman]]s Petrov and Yalyshev visited China.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.apollotea.com/tea-articles/tea-history/15-russian-tea-history |title=Russian Tea History |website=www.apollotea.com |access-date=28 May 2019}}</ref> The Mongolian Khan donated to [[Tsar]] [[Michael of Russia|Michael I]] four [[pood]]s (65–70 kg) of tea in 1638.<ref name="T">{{cite book |title=[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]] |publisher=Советская энциклопедия |year=1978 |pages=vol. 29, p. 11 }}</ref> According to [[Jeremiah Curtin]],<ref>Jeremiah Curtin, ''A Journey to Southern Siberia'', 1909, chapter one</ref> it was possibly in 1636<ref>Basil Dymytryshyn, ''Russia's Conquest of Siberia: A Documentary Record'', 1985, volume one, document 48 (he was an envoy that year, but the tea may have been given on a later visit to the Khan)</ref> that Vassili Starkov was sent as envoy to the [[Altan Khan of the Khalkha|Altyn Khan]]. He was given 250 pounds of tea as a gift to the tsar. Starkov at first refused, seeing no use for a load of dead leaves, but the Khan insisted. Thus was tea introduced to Russia. In 1679, Russia concluded a treaty on regular tea supplies from China via [[camel train|camel caravan]] in exchange for furs. It is today considered the ''de facto'' national beverage. |
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Yunnan Province has also been identified as "the birthplace of tea...the first area where humans figured out that eating tea leaves or brewing a cup could be pleasant".<ref>{{cite news | first = Thomas | last = Fuller | title = A Tea From the Jungle Enriches a Placid Village | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/world/asia/21tea.html | work = The New York Times | publisher = The New York Times Company | location = New York | page = A8 | date = 2008-04-21 }}</ref> [[Fengqing County]] in the [[Lincang City]] Prefecture of Yunnan Province in China is said to be home to the world's oldest cultivated tea tree, some 3,200 years old.<ref>''The Oldest Tea Tree on the Earth'', (Kunming, 2006).</ref> |
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[[File:This print of the Raymond Hugh Mckay Commander. The first vessel direct from China to Hull is published commemorative of her arrival on the 14th October 1843 RMG PW7733.jpg|thumb|The ''Raymond'', Hugh Mckay Commander. The first vessel direct from China to [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] on her arrival on 14 October 1843 with a cargo of tea.]] |
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=== Origin myths === |
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In one popular [[Chinese legend]], [[Shennong]], the legendary [[Emperor of China]] and inventor of [[agriculture]] and [[Chinese medicine]] was drinking a bowl of just boiled water some time around 2737 BC when a few leaves were blown from a nearby tree into his water, changing the color. The emperor took a sip of the brew and was pleasantly surprised by its flavor and restorative properties. A variant of the legend tells that the emperor tested the medical properties of various herbs on himself, some of them poisonous, and found tea to work as an antidote.<ref>Chow p. 19-20 (Czech edition); also Arcimovicova p. 9, Evans p. 2 and others</ref> Shennong is also mentioned in [[Lu Yu]]'s famous early work on the subject, ''[[The Classic of Tea|Cha Jing]]''.<ref>Lu Ju p. 29-30 (Czech edition)</ref> A similar Chinese legend goes that the god of agriculture would chew the leaves, stems, and roots of various plants to discover medicinal herbs. If he consumed a poisonous plant, he would chew tea leaves to counteract the poison.<ref>{{cite web|author=Greentealovers.com |url=http://greentealover.com/greenteahistorychina.htm |title=Chinese green tea health benefits |publisher=Greentealover.com |date= |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> |
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The first record of tea in English came from a letter written by Richard Wickham, who ran an [[East India Company]] office in Japan, writing to a merchant in Macao requesting "the best sort of chaw" in 1615. [[Peter Mundy]], a traveller and merchant who came across tea in [[Fujian]] in 1637, wrote, "''chaa'' – only water with a kind of herb boyled in it".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lXYFBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT25 |title=Tea: A Very British Beverage |author=Paul Chrystal |year=2014 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=978-1-4456-3360-2 |access-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928000518/https://books.google.com/books?id=lXYFBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT25&lpg=PT25 |archive-date=28 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>''Peter Mundy Merchant Adventurer'', 2011, ed. R.E. Pritchard, Bodleian Libraries, Oxford</ref> Tea was sold in a coffee house in London in 1657, [[Samuel Pepys]] tasted tea in 1660, and [[Catherine of Braganza]] took the tea-drinking habit to the English court when she married [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] in 1662. Tea, however, was not widely consumed in the British Isles until the 18th century and remained expensive until the latter part of that period. English drinkers preferred to add sugar and milk to black tea, and black tea overtook green tea in popularity in the 1720s.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Tea |series=[[In Our Time (BBC Radio 4)|In Our Time]] |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004y24y |network=[[BBC Radio 4]] |airdate=29 April 2004 |access-date=7 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411023701/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004y24y |archive-date=11 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Tea smuggling during the 18th century led to the general public being able to afford and consume tea. The British government removed the tax on tea, thereby eliminating the smuggling trade, by 1785.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tea.co.uk/page.php?id=98#masses |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730000451/http://www.tea.co.uk/page.php?id=98 |archive-date=30 July 2009 |title=A Social History of the Nation's Favourite Drink |work=United Kingdom Tea Council}}</ref> In Britain and Ireland, tea was initially consumed as a luxury item on special occasions, such as religious festivals, wakes, and domestic work gatherings. The price of tea in Europe fell steadily during the 19th century, especially after Indian tea began to arrive in large quantities; by the late 19th century tea had become an everyday beverage for all levels of society.<ref name="Lysaght" /> The popularity of tea played a role in historical events – the [[Tea Act]] of 1773 provoked the [[Boston Tea Party]] that escalated into the [[American Revolution]]. The need to address the issue of British trade deficit because of the trade in tea resulted in the [[Opium Wars]]. The Qing [[Kangxi Emperor]] had banned foreign products from being sold in China, decreeing in 1685 that all goods bought from China must be paid for in silver coin or bullion.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Goldstone|first=Jack A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mOu_DQAAQBAJ&q=chinese+european+bullion&pg=PT365|title=Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World: Population Change and State Breakdown in England, France, Turkey, and China, 1600–1850; 25th Anniversary Edition|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-315-40860-6|language=en}}</ref> Traders from other nations then sought to find another product, in this case opium, to sell to China to earn back the silver they were required to pay for tea and other commodities. The subsequent attempts by the Chinese Government to curtail the trade in opium led to war.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China |last=Lovell |first=Julia |isbn=978-1-4472-0410-7 |year=2012 |publisher=Picador}}</ref> |
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A rather gruesome legend dates back to the [[Tang Dynasty]]. In the legend, [[Bodhidharma]], the founder of [[Zen|Chan Buddhism]], accidentally fell asleep after meditating in front of a wall for nine years. He woke up in such disgust at his weakness that he cut off his own eyelids. They fell to the ground and took root, growing into tea bushes.<ref>Chow p. 20-21</ref> Sometimes, another version of the story is told with [[Gautama Buddha]] in place of ''Bodhidharma''.<ref>Evans p. 3</ref> |
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[[File:MapTea-1907.jpg|alt=World map of tea exporters and importers, 1907|thumb|World map of tea exporters and importers, 1907]] |
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Chinese small-leaf-type tea was introduced into India in 1836 by the British in an attempt to break the Chinese monopoly on tea.<ref name="Sen" /> In 1841, [[Archibald Campbell (doctor)|Archibald Campbell]] brought seeds of [[Chinese tea]] from the [[Kumaon Kingdom|Kumaun]] region and experimented with planting tea in [[Darjeeling]]. The Alubari [[tea garden]] was opened in 1856, and [[Darjeeling tea]] began to be produced.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=214}} In 1848, [[Robert Fortune]] was sent by the [[East India Company]] on a mission to China to bring the tea plant back to Great Britain. He began his journey in high secrecy as his mission occurred in the lull between the [[First Opium War]] and the [[Second Opium War]].<ref name="Rose">{{cite book |author=Sarah Rose |title=For All the Tea in China |publisher=Penguin Books |pages=1–5, 89, 122, 197 |year=2010 |author-link=Sarah Rose}}</ref> The Chinese tea plants he brought back were introduced to the [[Himalayas]], though most did not survive. The British had discovered that a different variety of tea was endemic to [[Assam]] and the northeast region of India, which was then hybridized with Chinese small-leaf-type tea. Using Chinese planting and cultivation techniques, the British colonial government established a tea industry by offering land in Assam to any European who agreed to cultivate it for export.<ref name="Sen" /> Tea was originally consumed only by [[Anglo-Indians]]; however, it became widely popular in India in the 1950s because of a successful advertising campaign by the India Tea Board.<ref name="Sen">{{cite book |author=Colleen Taylor Sen|title=Food Culture in India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YIyV_5wrplMC&pg=PA26 |year=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-32487-1 |page=26 |quote=Ironically, it was the British who introduced tea drinking to India, initially to anglicized Indians. Tea did not become a mass drink there until the 1950s when the India Tea Board, faced with a surplus of low-grade tea, launched an advertising campaign to popularize it in the north, where the drink of choice was milk. |access-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424065113/https://books.google.com/books?id=YIyV_5wrplMC&pg=PA26 |archive-date=24 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The British introduced tea industry to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1867.<ref name="taylor-AU">{{cite web|url=http://www1.american.edu/ted/ceylon-tea.htm|title=TED Case Studies – Ceylon Tea|publisher=American University, Washington, DC|access-date=27 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223084443/http://www1.american.edu/ted/ceylon-tea.htm|archive-date=23 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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== Chemical composition == |
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Whether or not these legends have any basis in fact, tea has played a significant role in Asian culture for centuries as a staple beverage, a curative, and a [[status symbol]]. It is not surprising, therefore, that theories of its origin are often religious or royal in nature. |
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{{See also|Phenolic content in tea}} |
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Physically speaking, tea has properties of both a [[solution (chemistry)|solution]] and a [[suspension (chemistry)|suspension]]. It is a solution of the water-soluble compounds extracted from the tea leaves, such as the polyphenols and amino acids. Tea infusions are among most consumed beverages globally.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yang|first1=Ziyin|last2=Baldermann|first2=Susanne|last3=Watanabe|first3=Naoharu|date=1 October 2013|title=Recent studies of the volatile compounds in tea|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096399691300104X|journal=Food Research International |series=Tea – from bushes to mugs: composition, stability and health aspects |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=585–599 |doi=10.1016/j.foodres.2013.02.011 |issn=0963-9969}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Huishanchahui.jpg|thumb|220px|right|A [[Ming Dynasty]] painting by artist [[Wen Zhengming]] illustrating scholars greeting in a tea ceremony]] |
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[[Image:Lu Yu.jpg|220px|thumb|right|220px|[[Lu Yu]]'s statue in [[Xi'an]]]] |
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[[Image:Monkeys-harvesting-tea.png|220px|thumb|right|Illustration of the legend of monkeys harvesting tea.]] |
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[[Caffeine]] makes up about 3% of tea's dry weight, which translates to between 30 and 90 milligrams per {{convert|250|mL|usfloz|adj=on|frac=2}} cup depending on the type, brand,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Weinberg, Bennett Alan |author2=Bealer, Bonnie K. |name-list-style=amp |title=The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug |url=https://archive.org/details/worldofcaffeines00benn |url-access=registration |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-92722-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldofcaffeines00benn/page/228 228]}}</ref> and brewing method.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hicks MB, Hsieh YP, Bell LN |title=Tea preparation and its influence on methylxanthine concentration |journal=Food Research International |volume=29 |issue=3–4 |pages=325–330 |year=1996 |doi=10.1016/0963-9969(96)00038-5 |url=http://www2.hcmuaf.edu.vn/data/lhquang/file/Tea1/Tea%20preparation%20and%20its%20influence%20on%20methylxanthine.pdf |access-date=13 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203132842/http://www2.hcmuaf.edu.vn/data/lhquang/file/Tea1/Tea%20preparation%20and%20its%20influence%20on%20methylxanthine.pdf |archive-date=3 February 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> A study found that the caffeine content of one gram of black tea ranged from 22 to 28 mg, while the caffeine content of one gram of green tea ranged from 11 to 20 mg, reflecting a significant difference.<ref>{{cite journal |pmc=3459493 |pmid=23055579 |doi=10.4103/0972-124X.99256 |volume=16 |issue=2 |title=Green tea: A boon for periodontal and general health |year=2012 |journal=Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology |pages=161–167 |vauthors=Chatterjee A, Saluja M, Agarwal G, Alam M |doi-access=free }}</ref> Tea contains small amounts of [[theobromine]] and [[theophylline]], which are [[xanthine]]s and [[stimulant]]s, similar to caffeine.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=1614995 |year=1992 |last1=Graham |first1=HN |title=Green tea composition, consumption, and polyphenol chemistry |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=334–350 |journal=Preventive Medicine |doi=10.1016/0091-7435(92)90041-f}}</ref> |
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=== China === |
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{{Main|History of tea in China}} |
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The Chinese have consumed tea for thousands of years. People of the [[Han Dynasty]] used tea as medicine (though the first use of tea as a stimulant is unknown). China is considered to have the earliest records of tea consumption,<ref name="encarta">{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20080308234307/encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761563182/Tea.html|title=Tea|publisher=''[[Encarta]]''|accessdate=2008-07-23}}</ref><ref name="columbia">{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/tea.aspx|title=Tea|publisher=''The [[Columbia Encyclopedia]]'' <small>Sixth Edition. 2001-07</small>|accessdate=2008-07-23}}</ref> with records dating back to the 10th century BC.<ref name="encarta"/> |
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[[File:TeaLeaves.JPG|thumb|Fresh tea leaves in various stages of growth]] |
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[[Laozi]] (ca. 600-517 BC), the classical Chinese philosopher, described tea as "the froth of the liquid jade" and named it an indispensable ingredient to the [[elixir of life]]. Legend has it that master Lao was saddened by society's moral decay and, sensing that the end of the dynasty was near, he journeyed westward to the unsettled territories, never to be seen again. While passing along the nation's border, he encountered and was offered tea by a customs inspector named Yin Hsi. Yin Hsi encouraged him to compile his teachings into a single book so that future generations might benefit from his wisdom. This then became known as the ''[[Tao Te Ching|Dao De Jing]]'', a collection of Laozi's sayings. |
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The [[Astringent|astringency]] in tea can be attributed to the presence of [[polyphenol]]s. These are the most abundant compounds in tea leaves, making up 30–40% of their composition.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Harbowy |first=ME |year=1997 |title=Tea Chemistry |journal=Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences |volume=16 |issue=5 |pages=415–480 |doi=10.1080/713608154}}</ref> Polyphenols in tea include [[flavonoid]]s, [[epigallocatechin gallate]] (EGCG), and other [[Flavan-3-ol|catechins]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ferruzzi |first1=MG |year=2010 |title=The influence of beverage composition on delivery of phenolic compounds from coffee and tea |journal=Physiol Behav |volume=100 |issue=1 |pages=33–41 |doi=10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.01.035 |pmid=20138903|s2cid=207373774 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Williamson G, Dionisi F, Renouf M |year=2011 |title=Flavanols from green tea and phenolic acids from coffee: critical quantitative evaluation of the pharmacokinetic data in humans after consumption of single doses of beverages |journal=Mol Nutr Food Res |volume=55 |issue=6 |pages=864–873 |pmid=21538847 |doi=10.1002/mnfr.201000631}}</ref> Although there has been preliminary [[clinical research]] on whether green or black teas may protect against various human diseases, there is no evidence that tea polyphenols have any effect on health or lowering disease risk.<ref name="nccih">{{cite web |url=http://nccih.nih.gov/health/greentea |publisher=National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD |title=Green Tea |date=2014 |access-date=25 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402153347/https://nccih.nih.gov/health/greentea |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm073992.htm#gtea |title=Summary of Qualified Health Claims Subject to Enforcement Discretion:Green Tea and Cancer |publisher=Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services |date=October 2014 |access-date=25 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015104050/http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm073992.htm#gtea |archive-date=15 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> |
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In 59 BC, Wang Bao wrote the first known book with instructions on buying and preparing tea. |
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In 220 <!--BC? AD?-->, famed physician and surgeon [[Hua Tuo]] wrote ''Shin Lun'', in which he describes tea's ability to improve mental functions. |
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During the [[Sui Dynasty]] (589-618 AD) tea was introduced to [[Japan]] by [[Buddhist]] monks. |
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The [[Tang Dynasty]] writer [[Lu Yu]]'s ({{zh|s=陆羽|t=陸羽|p=lùyǔ}}) ''Cha Jing'' (''[[The Classic of Tea]]'') ({{zh|s=茶经|t=茶經|p=chá jīng}}) is an early work on the subject. (See also [[Tea Classics]]) According to ''Cha Jing'' tea drinking was widespread. The book describes how tea plants were grown, the leaves processed, and tea prepared as a beverage. It also describes how tea was evaluated. The book also discusses where the best tea leaves were produced. Teas produced in this period were mainly [[tea brick]]s which were often used as currency, especially further from the center of the empire where coins lost their value. |
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During the [[Song Dynasty]] (960-1279), production and preparation of all tea changed. The tea of Song included many loose-leaf styles (to preserve the delicate character favored by court society), but a new powdered form of tea emerged. Steaming tea leaves was the primary process used for centuries in the preparation of tea. After the transition from compressed tea to the powdered form, the production of tea for trade and distribution changed once again. The Chinese learned to process tea in a different way in the mid-13th century. Tea leaves were roasted and then crumbled rather than steamed. This is the origin of today's loose teas and the practice of brewed tea. |
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Tea production in China, historically, was a laborious process, conducted in distant and often poorly accessible regions. This led to the rise of many apocryphal stories and legends surrounding the harvesting process. For example, one story that has been told for many years is that of a village where monkeys pick tea. According to this legend, the villagers stand below the monkeys and taunt them. The monkeys, in turn, become angry, and grab handfuls of tea leaves and throw them at the villagers.<ref name="Staunton">{{cite book|author=George Staunton|title=An Historical Account of the Embassy to the Emperor of China, Undertaken By Order of the King of Great Britain; Including the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants; and Preceded By an Account of the Causes of the embassy and Voyage to China |year=1797|publisher=J. Stockdale|quote=The Chinese perceiving these dispositions in the monkey took advantage of the propensities of the animal and converted them to life in a domestic state which in that of nature were exerted to their annoyance.|pages=452}}</ref> There are products sold today that claim to be harvested in this manner, but no reliable commentators have observed this firsthand, and most doubt that it happened at all.<ref name="Fortune">{{cite book|author=Robert Fortune|year=1852|publisher=J. Murray|title=A Journey to the Tea Countries of China; including Sung-Lo and the Bohea Hills|quote=I should not like to assert that no tea is gathered on these hills by the agency of chains and monkeys but I think it may be safely affirmed that the quantity in such is small.|pages=237}}</ref> For many hundreds of years the commercially-used tea tree has been, in shape, more of a bush than a tree.<ref name="Cumming">{{cite book|author=Constance Frederica Gordon Cumming|title=Wanderings in China|publisher=W. Blackwood and Sons|pages=318}}</ref> "Monkey picked tea" is more likely a name of certain varieties than a description of how it was obtained.<ref name="Martin">{{cite book|author=Laura C. Martin|title=Tea: The Drink that Changed the World|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=0804837244|pages=133|year=2007}}</ref> |
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In 1391, the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] court issued a decree that only loose tea would be accepted as a "[[tribute]]." As a result, loose tea production increased and processing techniques advanced. Soon, most tea was distributed in full-leaf, loose form and steeped in earthenware vessels. |
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=== Greece & Cyprus === |
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Through out Greece & Cyprus Greek tea, (Greek τσάι or Tsai), is made with (kanelles) or simply cinnamon & cloves. |
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=== India === |
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[[Image:TeaGardenOfAssam.jpg|thumb|left|Tea Garden in [[Assam]], India]] |
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[[File:Munnar_Top_station.jpg|thumb|left|Panoramic view of the [[Munnar]] Tea Garden, Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, in South India]] |
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[[File:Munnar_tea_gardens.jpg|thumb|left|Tea Gardens of [[Munnar]]]] |
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{{Main|History of tea in India}} |
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{{See also|Assam tea|Darjeeling tea|Masala chai|Nilgiri tea|Doodh Pati Chai|Munnar}} |
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The cultivation and brewing of tea in [[India]] has a long history of applications in [[Ayurveda|traditional systems of medicine]] and for consumption. Tea had been known for millennia in India as a medicinal plant. The consumption of tea in India was first clearly documented in the ancient epic ''[[Ramayana]]'' (''circa'' 500 BC). Research shows that tea is indigenous to eastern and northern India, and was cultivated and consumed there for thousands of years. However, commercial production of tea in India did not begin until the arrival of the [[British East India Company]], at which point large tracts of land were converted for mass tea production. |
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The Chinese variety is used for [[Darjeeling tea]], and the [[Assam tea|Assamese variety]], native to the Indian state of [[Assam]], everywhere else. The British started commercial tea plantations in India and in Ceylon: |
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"In 1824 tea plants were discovered in the hills along the frontier between Burma and the Indian state of Assam. The British introduced ''[[tea culture]]'' into India in 1836 and into Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1867. At first they used seeds from China, but later seeds from the Assam plant were used."<ref>tea. (2008). Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2008 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref> Only black tea was produced until recent decades. |
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India was the top producer of tea for nearly a century, but was displaced by China as the top tea producer in the 21st century.<ref name=Sanyal>{{Harvcoltxt|Sanyal|2008}}</ref> Indian tea companies have acquired a number of iconic foreign tea enterprises including British brands [[Tetley]] and [[Typhoo]].<ref name=Sanyal/> While India is the largest consumer of tea worldwide, the per-capita consumption of tea in India remains a modest 750 grams per person every year.<ref name=Sanyal/> |
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A lot of huge companies have emerged including 'Golden Tips Tea Co', and many other major brands that specialise and emphasize on [[Darjeeling tea]] and tourism in [[Darjeeling]], one of the prime beautiful locations famous for tea. |
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=== Japan === |
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[[Image:Tea urns.jpg|thumb|right|Ancient Tea Urns used by merchants to store tea.]] |
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[[Image:Tea ceremony performing 2.jpg|thumb|220px|right|[[Japanese tea ceremony]]]] |
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{{Main|History of tea in Japan}} |
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Tea use spread to Japan about the sixth century.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Kiple|Ornelas|2000|p=4}}</ref> Tea became a drink of the religious classes in Japan when Japanese priests and envoys, sent to [[China]] to learn about its culture, brought tea to Japan. Ancient recordings indicate the first batch of tea seeds were brought by a priest named {{nihongo|[[Saichō]]|最澄|extra=767-822}} in 805 and then by another named {{nihongo|[[Kūkai]]|空海|extra=774-835}} in 806. It became a drink of the royal classes when {{nihongo|[[Emperor Saga]]|嵯峨天皇}}, the Japanese emperor, encouraged the growth of tea plants. Seeds were imported from China, and cultivation in Japan began. |
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In 1191, the famous [[Zen]] priest {{nihongo|[[Eisai]]|栄西|extra=1141-1215}} brought back tea seeds to [[Kyoto]]. Some of the tea seeds were given to the priest Myoe Shonin, and became the basis for Uji tea. The oldest tea specialty book in Japan, {{nihongo|''Kissa Yōjōki''|喫茶養生記|extra=''How to Stay Healthy by Drinking Tea''}}, was written by Eisai. The two-volume book was written in 1211 after his second and last visit to China. The first sentence states, “Tea is the ultimate mental and medical remedy and has the ability to make one’s life more full and complete." Eisai was also instrumental in introducing tea consumption to the warrior class, which rose to political prominence after the [[Heian Period]]. |
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Green tea became a staple among cultured people in Japan—a brew for the gentry and the [[Bhikkhu|Buddhist priest]]hood alike. Production grew and tea became increasingly accessible, though still a privilege enjoyed mostly by the upper classes. The [[Japanese tea ceremony|tea ceremony of Japan]] was introduced from China in the 15th century by Buddhists as a semi-religious social custom. The modern tea ceremony developed over several centuries by Zen Buddhist monks under the original guidance of the monk {{nihongo|[[Sen no Rikyū]]|千 利休|extra=1522-1591}}. In fact, both the beverage and the ceremony surrounding it played a prominent role in feudal diplomacy. |
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In 1738, Soen Nagatani developed Japanese {{nihongo|''[[sencha]]''|煎茶}}, literally ''roasted tea'', which is an unfermented form of green tea. It is the most popular form of tea in Japan today. In 1835, Kahei Yamamoto developed {{nihongo|''[[gyokuro]]''|玉露}}, literally ''jewel dew'', by shading tea trees during the weeks leading up to harvesting. At the end of the [[Meiji period]] (1868-1912), machine manufacturing of green tea was introduced and began replacing handmade tea. |
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=== Korea === |
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{{See also|Korean tea ceremony|Korean tea}} |
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[[Image:Korean tea ceremony DSC04095.jpg|thumb|220px|''[[Darye]]'', Korean tea ceremony]] |
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The first historical record documenting the offering of tea to an ancestral god describes a rite in the year 661 in which a tea offering was made to the spirit of [[Suro of Gaya|King Suro]], the founder of the [[Geumgwan Gaya]] Kingdom (42-562). Records from the [[Goryeo]] Dynasty (918-1392) show that tea offerings were made in Buddhist temples to the spirits of revered monks. |
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During the [[Joseon Dynasty]] (1392-1910), the royal Yi family and the aristocracy used tea for simple rites. The "Day Tea Rite" was a common daytime ceremony, whereas the "Special Tea Rite" was reserved for specific occasions. Toward the end of the Joseon Dynasty, commoners joined the trend and used tea for ancestral rites, following the Chinese example based on Zhu Xi's text formalities of Family. |
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Stoneware was common, ceramic more frequent, mostly made in provincial kilns, with porcelain rare, imperial porcelain with dragons the rarest. The earliest kinds of tea used in tea ceremonies were heavily pressed cakes of black tea, the equivalent of aged [[pu-erh tea]] still popular in China. However, importation of tea plants by Buddhist monks brought a more delicate series of teas into Korea, and the [[Korean tea ceremony|tea ceremony]]. Green tea, "chaksol" or "chugno," is most often served. However, other teas such as "Byeoksoryung" Chunhachoon, Woojeon, Jakseol, Jookro, Okcheon, as well as native [[chrysanthemum tea]], [[persimmon]] leaf tea, or [[Artemisia vulgaris|mugwort]] tea may be served at different times of the year. |
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=== Taiwan === |
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Taiwan is famous for the making of Oolong tea and green tea, as well as many western-styled teas. [[Bubble Tea]] or "Zhen Zhu Nai Cha" (Mandarin: 珍珠奶茶) is black tea mixed with sweetened condensed milk and tapioca. Since the island was known to Westerners for many centuries as ''Formosa'' — short for the Portuguese ''Ilha Formosa'', or "beautiful island" — tea grown in Taiwan is often identified by that name. |
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=== Thailand === |
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'''Thai tea''' or "cha-yen" ({{lang-th|ชาเย็น}}) in [[Thailand]], is a drink made from strongly-brewed black tea ("red tea" in East Asia). Other ingredients may include added orange blossom water, [[star anise]], crushed [[tamarind]] seed or red and yellow [[food coloring]], and sometimes other spices as well. This tea is sweetened with [[sugar]] and [[condensed milk]]. |
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Usually, Thai people drink Thai hot tea in the morning, frequently with [[Youtiao|Yau ja gwai]] or ''Pa-tong-ko'' (Thai: ปาท่องโก๋) as it is called by most Thais. |
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- *''Thai hot tea'' (Thai: ชาร้อน, cha-ron) Thai tea served hot. |
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- *''Dark Thai hot tea'' (Thai: ชาดำร้อน, cha-dam-ron) Thai tea served hot with no milk content, sweetened with sugar only. |
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=== Turkey === |
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{{See also |Turkish tea|}} |
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[[Image:Turkish tea.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Turkish tea]] |
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Turkey is traditionally one of the largest tea markets in the world. Turkish black tea is the most popular drink in Turkey, even more popular than [[Turkish coffee]]. |
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===Vietnam === |
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Vietnamese green teas have been largely unknown outside of mainland Asia until the present day. Recent free-enterprise initiatives are introducing these green teas to outside |
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countries through new export activities. Some specialty Vietnamese teas include [[Vietnamese lotus tea|Lotus tea]] and [[Jasmine#Cultivation and uses|Jasmine tea]]. Vietnam also produces black and oolong teas in lesser quantities.<!--Aren't there other types of tea? Black tea? How about Shan Tuyet?--> |
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Vietnamese teas are produced in many areas that have been known for tea-house "retreats". For example some are, located amidst immense tea forests of the Lamdong<!--Where is this?--> highlands, where there is a community of ancient Ruong<!--What is this?--> houses built at the end of the 18th century. |
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[[Image:Tea-224-nevit.jpg|thumb|right|Middle Eastern tea]] |
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=== Tea spreads to the world === |
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[[Image:Samovar.silver.jpg|thumbnail|left|A conical urn-shaped silver-plated [[samovar]] used for boiling water for tea in Russia and some Middle eastern countries]] |
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The earliest record of tea in a more [[Western world|occidental]] writing is said to be found in the statement of an Arabian traveler, that after the year 879 the main sources of revenue in [[Guangdong|Canton]] were the duties on salt and tea. [[Marco Polo]] records the deposition of a Chinese minister of finance in 1285 for his arbitrary augmentation of the tea taxes. The travelers Giovanni Batista [[Ramusio]] (1559), L. Almeida (1576), Maffei (1588), and Teixeira (1610) also mentioned tea. In 1557, [[Portugal]] established a trading port in [[Macau]] and word of the Chinese drink "chá" spread quickly, but there is no mention of them bringing any samples home. In the early 17th century, a ship of the [[Dutch East India Company]] brought the first green tea leaves to [[Amsterdam]] from [[China]]. Tea was known in [[France]] by 1636. It enjoyed a brief period of popularity in [[Paris]] around 1648. The history of tea in [[Russia]] can also be traced back to the seventeenth century. Tea was first offered by China as a gift to Czar [[Michael of Russia|Michael I]] in 1618. The Russian ambassador tried the drink; he did not care for it and rejected the offer, delaying tea's Russian introduction by fifty years. In 1689, tea was regularly imported from China to Russia via a caravan of hundreds of camels traveling the year-long journey, making it a precious commodity at the time. Tea was appearing in [[Germany|German]] [[apothecaries]] by 1657 but never gained much esteem except in coastal areas such as [[Ostfriesland]].<ref>Book of Tea By Kakuzō Okakura (pages 5 - 6). Published 1964. Courier Dover Publications. Sociology. 94 pages. ISBN 0486200701</ref> Tea first appeared publicly in England during the 1650s, where it was introduced through coffee houses. From there it was introduced to British colonies in America and elsewhere. |
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=== United Kingdom === |
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{{See also|British tea culture}} |
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[[Image:Tea fields (Will Ellis)-2008-07-06.jpg|thumb|Tea plantation in the [[Cameron Highlands]], [[Malaysia]].]] |
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The importing of tea into Britain began in the 1660s with the marriage of [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] to the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] princess [[Catherine of Braganza]], who brought to the court the habit of drinking tea.<ref name="bbc">(In Our Time, BBC Radio 4, 29 April 2004)</ref> On 25 September of the same year [[Samuel Pepys]] recorded in his diary: "I did send for a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never had drank before".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1660/09/25/|title=The Diary of Samuel Pepys|accessdate=2009-05-11}}</ref> It is probable that early imports came via [[Amsterdam]] or through sailors on eastern boats.<ref name="bbc" /> |
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Regular trade began in [[Guangzhou]] (Canton).<ref name="bbc" /> Trade was controlled by two monopolies: the Chinese ''Hongs'' (trading companies) and the [[British East India Company]].<ref name="bbc" /> The Hongs acquired tea from 'the tea men' who had an elaborate supply chain into the mountains and provinces where the tea was grown.<ref name="bbc" /> |
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The East India Company brought back many products, of which tea was just one, but it was to prove one of the most successful.<ref name="bbc" /> It was initially promoted as a medicinal beverage or tonic.<ref name="bbc" /> By the end of the seventeenth century tea was taken as a drink, albeit mainly by the aristocracy.<ref name="bbc" /> In 1690 nobody would have predicted that by 1750 tea would be the national drink.<ref name="bbc" /> The origin of large trade in tea was the need for a return cargo from the East Indies. Merchantmen ships delivered fabrics manufactured in Britain to India and China but would return empty or partially full. To solve this problem the East India Company began a vigorous public relations campaign in England to popularize tea among the common people in Britain and develop it as a viable return cargo. |
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The escalation of tea importation and sales over the period 1690 to 1750 is mirrored closely by the increase in importation and sales of [[cane sugar]]: the British were not drinking just tea but ''sweet'' tea.<ref name="bbc" /> Thus, two of Britain's trading triangles were to meet within the cup: the sugar sourced from Britain's trading triangle encompassing Britain, Africa and the West Indies and the tea from the triangle encompassing Britain, India and China.<ref name="bbc" /> |
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Britain had to pay China for its tea, but China had little need of British goods, so much of it was paid for with silver bullion. Although the Chinese did not need the silver, China's government eventually accepted the silver as the payments for the first few good Chinese tea shipments.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}<!--ref:Chan?-->Critics of the tea trade at this time would point to the damage caused to Britain's wealth by this loss of bullion.<ref name="bbc" /> As an alternative, Britain began producing [[opium]] in the traditionally cotton-growing regions of India. Though illegal in China, British importation of opium in large amounts began in 1781 and between 1821 and 1837 import increased fivefold. The Qing government largely ignored the problem until the drug had spread widely in Chinese society. |
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With demand for the drug among the Chinese rising, the British forced China to trade tea for opium as part of several treaties after the [[Opium Wars]]. In another attempt to circumvent its dependence on Chinese tea, the East India Company sent Scottish botanist [[Robert Fortune]] to China to steal and smuggle out of China tea plants, which were then taken to India, where by the end of the 19th century they matured and produced Indian tea. |
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Tea became a very important item in Britain's global trade, contributing to Britain's global dominance by the end of the eighteenth century. To this day tea is seen worldwide as a symbol of 'Britishness', but also, to some, as a symbol of old British [[colonialism]].<ref name="bbc" /> |
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The [[London 2012]] section of the paralympic handover in Beijing included tea as part of the routine.<ref name="urlwww.london2012.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.london2012.com/documents/press-kits/paralympic-handover-media-guide.pdf |title=www.london2012.com |format= |work= |accessdate=30 October, 2009}}</ref> A cup or mug of tea in Britain is usually made in a different way than is common in China and other Eastern countries. Over 90% of tea consumed is black tea, often but not always with a small amount of milk and / or sugar added. Today the British mug of tea is often made by placing one tea bag in the mug and pouring boiling water on it till seven eighths of the mug is full. Then mixture is then stirred to help the tea dissolve out of the tea bag into the hot water and often the tea bag is then squeezed against the inside of the mug with the spoon to dissolve still more tea before the tea bag is thrown away. A little milk may well then be added and perhaps sugar according to the drinker's taste with another final stir of the mixture. A cup of tea may be made in the same way or just as likely will be poured out of a traditional tea pot where tea bags and hot water have already been mixed. The drinker then adding milk and sugar, if required, and stirring the ingredients together before gently, occasionally, sipping the hot beverage, often while talking, reading, working, watching TV, gazing out the window or simply day dreaming. On semi-formal occasions tea is almost always drunk from cups, and perhaps from the best china cups on really formal occasions. A mug of tea is the most common way of casually consuming tea at work and at home. Tea and coffee are the most popular hot beverages in the United Kingdom. |
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As of 2009 the UK can boast two commercial tea plantations, one in [[Cornwall]] owned by the Tregothnan Estate and a slightly more northern one in [[Pembrokeshire]], [[Wales]], owned by the Pembrokeshire Tea Company. |
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=== United States === |
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{{See|Tea production in the United States}} |
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While [[coffee]] is by far more popular, hot brewed black tea is enjoyed both with meals and as a refreshment by much of the population. Similarly, [[iced tea]] is consumed throughout. In the [[Southern United States|Southern]] states [[sweet tea]], sweetened with large amounts of sugar or an artificial sweetener and chilled, is the fashion. Outside the South, sweet tea is sometimes found, but primarily because of cultural migration and commercialization.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} |
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The American specialty tea market has quadrupled in the years from 1993-2008, now being worth $6.8 billion a year.<ref>[http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article3338373.ece 'Tea finally making a stir in America'] Times Online. Retrieved 17 February 2008.</ref> Similar to the trend of better coffee and better wines, this tremendous increase was partly due to consumers who choose to trade up. Specialty tea houses and retailers also started to pop up during this period.<ref>Campbell, Polly (April 26, 2006). "Suited to a tea". Cincinnati Enquirer.</ref> |
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The [[Boston Tea Party]] was an act of protest by American colonists against the British Government in which they destroyed many crates of tea from the British East India Company ships in Boston Harbor. The incident, which took place on Thursday, December 16, 1773, has been seen as the breaking point of the disapproval of the British and helping to spark the American Revolution.<ref>Tyler, John W., Smugglers & Patriots: Boston Merchants and the Advent of the American Revolution (Boston, 1986).</ref> |
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====Tea Gardens in South India==== |
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'''[[Munnar]]''' |
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Top station, 41 Km (1 Hour) from [[Munnar]], is aptly named, as it is home to some of the highest tea plantations in India. It lies on the state border between Kerala and Tamilnadu and commands a panoramic view of rolling green hills. |
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=== Sri Lanka/Ceylon === |
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[[Image:Sri Lanka-Tea plantation-01.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Tea Garden in Sri Lanka]] |
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{{Main|Tea production in Sri Lanka}} |
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[[Sri Lanka]] is renowned for its high quality tea and as the fourth biggest tea producing country globally, after China, India and Kenya (see the chart below) and has a production share of 9% in the international sphere. The total extent of land under tea cultivation has been assessed at approximately 187,309 hectares.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} |
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The plantations started by the British were initially taken over by the government in the 1960s, but have been privatized and are now run by 'plantation companies' which own a few 'estates' or tea plantations each. |
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Ceylon tea is divided into 3 groups as Upcountry, Mid country and Low country tea based on the geography of the land on which it is grown.<ref name="Sri">{{cite web|url=http://www.pureceylontea.com/srilankatea.htm |title=Sri Lanka Tea Board |publisher=Pureceylontea.com |date= |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> |
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===Africa and South America=== |
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Africa and South America have seen greatly increased tea production in recent decades, the great majority for export to Europe and North America respectively, produced on large estates, often owned by tea companies from the export markets. Almost all production is of basic mass-market teas, processed by the [[Crush, Tear, Curl]] method. [[Kenya]] is now the third largest global producer (figures below), after China and India, and is now the largest exporter of tea to the United Kingdom. There is also a great consumption of tea in Chile{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}. In South Africa, the non-[[Camellia sinensis]] beverage [[rooibos]] is popular. In South America, [[yerba mate]], a [[tisane]], is popular. |
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===Europe=== |
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The only european plantation is [[Cha Gorréana]], [[Ribeira Grande, São Miguel]], [[Azores]]. |
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[[Sideritis]] (Ironwort)is a very common and immensely popular tea in Greece which grows in the mountains. It also goes by the name of "Mountain Tea" and "Shepherd's Tea." |
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== Health effects == |
== Health effects == |
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{{Main|Health effects of tea}} |
{{Main|Health effects of tea}} |
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Although health benefits have been assumed throughout the history of ''[[Camellia sinensis]]''[[Camellia sinensis|<nowiki/>'s]] consumption, there is no high-quality evidence showing that tea consumption gives significant benefits other than possibly increasing alertness, an effect caused by [[caffeine]] in the tea leaves.<ref name="medline">{{cite web |date=30 November 2017 |title=Black tea |url=https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/997.html |access-date=27 February 2018 |publisher=MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine}}</ref><ref name="nccih2">{{cite web |date=30 November 2016 |title=Green tea |url=https://nccih.nih.gov/health/greentea |access-date=27 February 2018 |publisher=National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, US National Institutes of Health}}</ref> In [[clinical research]] conducted in the early 21st century, it was found there is no scientific evidence to indicate that consuming tea affects any disease or improves health.<ref name="medline" /> |
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Black and green teas contain no [[Nutrient|essential nutrients]] in significant amounts, with the exception of the [[Mineral (nutrient)|dietary mineral]] [[manganese]], at 0.5 mg per cup or 26% of the [[Reference Daily Intake]] (RDI).<ref>{{cite web |date=2014 |title=Tea, brewed, prepared with tap water [black tea], one cup, USDA Nutrient Tables, SR-21 |url=http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beverages/3967/2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026201138/http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beverages/3967/2 |archive-date=26 October 2014 |access-date=25 October 2014 |publisher=Conde Nast}}</ref> [[Fluoride]] is sometimes present in tea; certain types of "brick tea", made from old leaves and stems, have the highest levels, enough to pose a health risk if much tea is drunk, which has been attributed to high levels of fluoride in soils, acidic soils, and long brewing.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Fung KF, Zhang ZQ, Wong JW, Wong MH |year=1999 |title=Fluoride contents in tea and soil from tea plantations and the release of fluoride into tea liquor during infusion |journal=Environmental Pollution |volume=104 |issue=2 |pages=197–205 |doi=10.1016/S0269-7491(98)00187-0}}</ref> |
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== Cultivation and harvesting == |
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The health benefits of tea is a controversial topic with many proponents and detractors. An article from the {{Harvtxt|Nutrition|1999|pp=946–949}} journal as related on [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10575676 PubMed] states: |
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{{anchor|Cultivation and harvesting}} |
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[[File:04 Zhejiang tea 05.1987 01.jpg|thumb|Tea harvesting in Zhejiang province, China, May 1987]] |
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[[File:SriLanka TeaHarvest (pixinn.net).jpg|thumb|Tea plantation workers in [[Tea production in Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]]]] |
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''Camellia sinensis'' is an evergreen plant that grows mainly in [[Tropical climate|tropical]] and [[Subtropics|subtropical]] climates.<ref name="hort.purdue" /> Some varieties can tolerate [[oceanic climate]]s and are cultivated as far north as [[Cornwall]] in England,<ref>{{cite news |last=Levin |first=Angela |date=20 May 2013 |title=Welcome to Tregothnan, England's only tea estate |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10061426/Welcome-to-Tregothnan-Englands-only-tea-estate.html |access-date=5 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214014053/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10061426/Welcome-to-Tregothnan-Englands-only-tea-estate.html |archive-date=14 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Perthshire]] in Scotland,<ref name=ti-2014nov17>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/the-worlds-first-scottish-tea-at-10-a-cup-9866437.html |title=The world's first Scottish tea (at £10 a cup) |website=[[The Independent]] |date=17 November 2014 |first=Kate |last=Hilpern |access-date=15 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008130141/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/the-worlds-first-scottish-tea-at-10-a-cup-9866437.html |archive-date=8 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Washington (state)|Washington]] in the [[Tea production in the United States|United States]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Tea |url=http://69.93.14.225/wscpr/LibraryDocs/Tea2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810214327/http://69.93.14.225/wscpr/LibraryDocs/Tea2010.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 August 2011 |work=The Compendium of Washington Agriculture |publisher=Washington State Commission on Pesticide Registration |year=2010 |access-date=26 April 2011 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->}}</ref> and [[Vancouver Island]] in Canada.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/05/tea-farm-on-vancouver-island-a-canadian-first/ |title=Tea farm on Vancouver Island, a Canadian first |newspaper=[[Vancouver Sun]] |date=5 May 2013 |access-date=26 May 2014 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527214442/http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/05/tea-farm-on-vancouver-island-a-canadian-first/ |archive-date=27 May 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the Southern Hemisphere, tea is grown as far south as [[Hobart]] in Tasmania<ref>{{cite news |url=http://prelive.themercury.com.au/article/2013/08/13/385535_tasmania-news.html |title=Tassie tea crop brewing |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)]] |date=13 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311120146/http://prelive.themercury.com.au/article/2013/08/13/385535_tasmania-news.html |archive-date=11 March 2014 |first=Jennifer |last=Crawley}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s2404570.htm |title=Episode 36 – Produce of Two Islands |series=[[The Cook and the Chef]] |number=36 |date=29 October 2008 |network=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC Australia]] |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |access-date=24 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215032023/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s2404570.htm |archive-date=15 February 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Waikato]] in New Zealand.<ref name=nzh-2013aug17>{{cite news |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/waikato-news/news/tea-growing-is-tough-going/XCPAATJPQKKS7QFZ64WFSV2ILI/ |title=Tea growing is tough going |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=17 August 2013 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |access-date=24 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222192713/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/waikato-news/news/tea-growing-is-tough-going/XCPAATJPQKKS7QFZ64WFSV2ILI/|archive-date=22 February 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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<blockquote> |
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The possible beneficial effects of tea consumption in the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases have been demonstrated in animal models and suggested by studies [[in vitro]]. Similar beneficial effects, however, have not been convincingly demonstrated in humans: beneficial effects have been demonstrated in some studies but not in others. If such beneficial effects do exist in humans, they are likely to be mild, depending on many other lifestyle-related factors, and could be masked by confounding factors in certain populations. Another concern is that the amounts of tea consumed by humans are lower than the doses required for demonstrating the disease-prevention effects in animal models. Caution should be applied, however, in the use of high concentrations of tea for disease prevention. Ingestion of large amounts of tea may cause nutritional and other problems because of the [[caffeine]] content and the strong binding activities of tea [[polyphenol]]s, although there are no solid data on the harmful effects of tea consumption. More research is needed to elucidate the biologic activities of green and black tea and to determine the optimal amount of tea consumption for possible health-beneficial effects. |
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</blockquote> |
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Tea plants are propagated from seed and cuttings; about 4 to 12 years are needed for a plant to bear seed and about three years before a new plant is ready for harvesting.<ref name="hort.purdue">{{cite web |url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/camellia_sinensis.html |title=Camellia Sinensis |publisher=Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plants Products |access-date=26 October 2010 |date=3 July 1996 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924055240/http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Camellia_sinensis.html |archive-date=24 September 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to a [[hardiness zone|zone 8]] climate or warmer, tea plants require at least 127 cm (50 in) of rainfall per year and prefer [[Soil pH|acidic soils]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Camellias: A Practical Gardening Guide |last1=Rolfe |first1=Jim |first2=Yvonne |last2=Cave |name-list-style=amp |year=2003 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=978-0-88192-577-7}}</ref> Many high-quality tea plants are cultivated at elevations of up to {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level. Though at these heights the plants grow more slowly, they acquire a better flavour.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tea Cuisine: A New Approach to Flavoring Contemporary and Traditional Dishes |last=Pruess |first=Joanna |year=2006 |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=978-1-59228-741-3}}</ref> |
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In summary, the health benefits of tea have been shown in animal studies, but at doses much higher than regularly consumed by humans, at which dosage levels may prove to be harmful to health. |
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[[File:2DU Kenya16 (5367334314).jpg|left|thumb|Women picking tea in [[Kenya]]]] |
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Several of the potential health benefits proposed for tea are outlined in this excerpt from {{Harvtxt|Mondal|2007|pp=519–520}} as following: |
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Two principal varieties are used: ''Camellia sinensis'' var. ''sinensis,'' which is used for most Chinese, Formosan and Japanese teas, and ''C. sinensis'' var. ''assamica,'' used in [[Pu'er tea|Pu-erh]] and most Indian teas (but not Darjeeling). Within these botanical varieties, many [[strain (biology)|strains]] and modern clonal varieties are known. Leaf size is the chief criterion for the classification of tea plants, with three primary classifications being:<ref name=Mondal /> [[Assam tea|Assam]] type, characterised by the largest leaves; China type, characterised by the smallest leaves; and Cambodian type, characterised by leaves of intermediate size. The Cambodian-type tea (''C. assamica'' subsp. ''lasiocaly'') was originally considered a type of Assam tea. However, later genetic work showed that it is a hybrid between Chinese small-leaf tea and Assam-type tea.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wambulwa |first1=M. C. |last2=Meegahakumbura |first2=M. K. |last3=Chalo |first3=R.|title=Nuclear microsatellites reveal the genetic architecture and breeding history of tea germplasm of East Africa |journal=Tree Genetics & Genomes |date=February 2016 |volume=12 |issue=1 |doi=10.1007/s11295-015-0963-x |s2cid=255132393 |url=https://www.academia.edu/28051971|url-access=registration|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Darjeeling tea appears to be a hybrid between Chinese small-leaf tea and Assam-type large-leaf tea.<ref name="Meegahakumbura 2"/> |
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<blockquote> |
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Tea leaves contain more than 700 chemicals, among which the compounds closely related to human health are [[flavanoid]]es, [[amino acid]]s, vitamins ([[vitamin C|C]], [[vitamin E|E]] and [[vitamin K|K]]), caffeine and [[polysaccharide]]s. Moreover, tea drinking has recently proven to be associated with cell-mediated immune function of the human body. Tea plays an important role in improving beneficial intestinal microflora, as well as providing immunity against intestinal disorders and in protecting cell membranes from oxidative damage. Tea also prevents [[dental caries]] due to the presence of [[fluorine]]. The role of tea is well established in normalizing [[blood pressure]], lipid depressing activity, prevention of [[coronary heart disease]]s and [[diabetes]] by reducing the blood-glucose activity. Tea also possesses [[germicidal]] and germistatic activities against various [[Gram-positive bacteria|gram-positive]] and [[Gram-negative bacteria|gram negative]] human pathogenic bacteria. Both green and black tea infusions contain a number of [[antioxidant]]s, mainly catechins that have anti-[[carcinogenic]], anti-[[mutagenic]] and anti-[[tumor]]ic properties. |
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</blockquote> |
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[[File:Đồi chè Ô Quý Hồ.jpg|thumb|Tea plantation near [[Sa Pa]], [[Vietnam]]]] |
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In a large study of over 11,000 Scottish men and women completed in 1993 and published in the 1999 {{Harvtxt|Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health|1999|pp=481-487}}, there was an increase in the risk of coronary disease with the regular consumption of tea, although it disappeared after adjustment for confounding factors (age and occupational status). |
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A tea plant will grow into a tree of up to {{convert|16|m|ft|abbr=on}} if left undisturbed,<ref name="hort.purdue" /> but cultivated plants are generally pruned to waist height for ease of plucking. The short plants bear more new shoots which provide new and tender leaves and increase the quality of the tea.<ref name="Tea Cultivation">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/585098/tea |title=Tea production |access-date=1 June 2007 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |first=Campbell Ronald |last=Harler |date=26 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430063121/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/585098/tea |archive-date=30 April 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> Only the top {{convert|1|-|2|in|cm|round=0.5|order=flip}} of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called 'flushes'.<ref>{{cite book |first=Elizabeth S. |last=Hayes |title=Spices and Herbs: Lore and Cookery |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=htsIVCwRsEcC |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-486-24026-8 |page=74}}</ref> A plant will grow a new flush every 7 to 15 days during the growing season. Leaves that are slow in development tend to produce better-flavoured teas.<ref name="hort.purdue" /> Several teas are available from specified flushes; for example, Darjeeling tea is available as first flush (at a premium price), second flush, monsoon and autumn. Assam second flush or "tippy" tea is considered superior to first flush, because of the gold tips that appear on the leaves. |
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Pests that can afflict tea plants include mosquito bugs, genus ''[[Helopeltis]]'', which are [[hemiptera|true bugs]] and not to be confused with [[mosquito|dipterous insects of family ''Culicidae'']] ('mosquitos'). Mosquito bugs can damage leaves both by sucking plant materials, and by the laying of eggs (oviposition) within the plant. Spraying with synthetic [[insecticide]]s may be deemed appropriate.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Somnath Roy |author2=Narayanannair Muraleedharan |author3=Ananda Mukhapadhyay |author4=Gautam Handique | date=24 April 2015 | title= The tea mosquito bug, Helopeltis theivora Waterhouse (Heteroptera: Miridae): its status, biology, ecology and management in tea plantations | journal=International Journal of Pest Management, 61:3 | volume=61 | issue=3 | pages=179–197 | doi=10.1080/09670874.2015.1030002 | s2cid=83481846 }}</ref> Other pests are Lepidopteran leaf feeders and various [[List of tea diseases|tea diseases]]. |
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The [[IARC]] list teas as under [[List of IARC Group 3 carcinogens|Group 3 carcinogens]] since injection of black tea concentrates under the skins of mice showed some cancerous growths. However, it has not been possible to prove that tea affects humans in similar ways through consumption.<ref>[http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol51/index.php IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans Volume 51 (1991)]</ref> |
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== Production == |
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==Etymology and cognates in other languages== |
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The [[Chinese character]] for tea is [[wikt:茶|茶]], but it is pronounced differently in the various [[Chinese language|Chinese]] dialects. Two pronunciations have made their way into other languages around the world.<ref>{{ Cite web |
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| title=The World Atlas of Language Structures Online |
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| contribution=Feature/Chapter 138: Tea |
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| first=Östen |
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| last=Dahl |
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| publisher=Max Planck Digital Library |
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| url=http://wals.info/feature/138 |
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| accessdate=2008-06-04 |
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}}</ref> One common pronunciation is ''tê'', which comes from the [[Hokkien]] dialect, spoken in Fujian Province, Taiwan and by expatriate Chinese in Indonesia, Malaya and Singapore. It reached the West particularly from the [[Amoy dialect|Amoy Min Nan dialect]], spoken around the [[seaport|port]] of [[Xiamen]] (Amoy), once a major point of contact with Western European traders. This pronunciation is believed to come from the old words for tea [[wikt:梌|梌]] (tú) or [[wikt:荼|荼]] (tú). The other common pronunciation is ''chá'', used by the [[Canton dialect|Cantonese dialect]] spoken around the ports of [[Guangzhou]] (Canton), [[Hong Kong]], [[Macau]], and in [[overseas Chinese]] communities, as well as in the [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin dialect]] of northern China. This term was used in ancient times to describe the first flush harvest of tea. Yet another different pronunciation is ''zu'', used in the [[Wu Chinese|Wu dialect]] spoken around [[Shanghai]]. The words for tea in Korea and Japan are [[wikt:차|차]] and [[wikt:茶|茶]] ([[wikt:ちゃ|ちゃ]]), respectively. Both are transliterated as ''cha''. (In Japanese, it is sometimes [[wikt:御茶|御茶]] ([[wikt:おちゃ|おちゃ]]) or ''ocha'', which is more [[Honorific speech in Japanese|polite]].) |
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{| class="wikitable floatright" |
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=== The derivatives from ''tê''=== |
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|+Tea production – 2022 |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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!width="85px"|Language |
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!width="85px"|Name |
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!width="85px"|Language |
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!width="85px"|Name |
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!width="85px"|Language |
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!width="85px"|Name |
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!width="85px"|Language |
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!width="85px"|Name |
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!width="85px"|Language |
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!width="85px"|Name |
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|- |
|- |
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! style="background:#ddf;"| Country |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Afrikaans]] |
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! style="background:#ddf;"|Million<br /> tonnes |
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|''tee'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]] |
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|''te'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Czech language|Czech]] |
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|''té'' or ''thé'' <sub>(1)</sub> |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Danish language|Danish]] |
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|''te'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Dutch language|Dutch]] |
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|''thee'' |
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|- |
|- |
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| {{CHN}}||{{right|14.53}} |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[English language|English]] |
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|''tea'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Esperanto]] |
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|''teo'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Estonian language|Estonian]] |
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|''tee'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Faroese language|Faroese]] |
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|''te'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Finnish language|Finnish]] |
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|''tee'' |
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|- |
|- |
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| {{IND}}||{{right|5.97}} |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[French language|French]] |
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|''thé'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] |
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|''tee'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Galician language|Galician]] |
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|''té'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[German language|German]] |
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|''Tee'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] |
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|תה, ''te'' |
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|- |
|- |
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| {{flagicon|Kenya}} [[Tea production in Kenya|Kenya]]||{{right|2.33}} |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] |
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|''tea'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] |
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|''te'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] |
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|''teh'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Irish language|Irish]] |
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|''tae'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Italian language|Italian]] |
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|''tè'' or ''thè'' |
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|- |
|- |
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| {{flagicon|Sri Lanka}} [[Tea production in Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]]||{{right|1.40}} |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Javanese language|Javanese]] |
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|''tèh'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Korean language|Korean]] |
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|茶,다 ''da'' {{IPA-ko|ta|}}<sub>(2)</sub> |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | scientific [[Latin]] |
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|''thea'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Latvian language|Latvian]] |
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|''tēja'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Leonese language|Leonese]] |
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|''té'' |
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|- |
|- |
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| {{TUR}}||{{right|1.30}} |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Limburgish]] |
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|''tiè'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Low Saxon language|Low Saxon]] |
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|''Tee'' {{IPA|[tʰɛˑɪ]}} or ''Tei'' {{IPA|[tʰaˑɪ]}} |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Malay language|Malay]] |
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|''teh'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] |
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|''te'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Occitan language|Occitan]] |
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|''tè'' |
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|- |
|- |
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| {{VNM}}||{{right|1.12}} |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Sesotho]] |
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|''tea'',''chá'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Scottish Gaelic language|Scots Gaelic]] |
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|''tì'', ''teatha'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Sinhala language|Sinhalese]] |
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|''thé'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Spanish language|Spanish]] |
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|''té'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Scots language|Scots]] |
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|''tea'' {{IPA|[tiː] ~ [teː]}} |
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|- |
|- |
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| {{IDN}}||{{right|0.60}} |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Sundanese language|Sundanese]] |
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|''entèh'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Swedish language|Swedish]] |
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|''te'' [tʰeː] |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Tamil language|Tamil]] |
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|தேநீர் ''thenīr'' (nīr = water) "theyilai" means "tea leaf" (ilai=leaf) |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Telugu language|Telugu]] |
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|తేనీళ్ళు ''tēnīru'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Welsh language|Welsh]] |
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|''te'' |
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|- |
|- |
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| {{BAN}}||{{right|0.44}} |
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|} |
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* Note: <sub>(1)</sub> ''té'' or ''thé'', but this term is considered archaic and literary expression. Since roughly second half of 20th century, ''čaj'' is used for "tea" in Czech language, see the following table <sub>(3)</sub>. |
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<sub>(2)</sub> 차 (''cha'') is an alternative word for "tea" in Korean; see <sub>(4)</sub> |
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=== Derivatives from ''cha'' or ''chai'' === |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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!width="85px"|Language |
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!width="85px"|Name |
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!width="85px"|Language |
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!width="85px"|Name |
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!width="85px"|Language |
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!width="85px"|Name |
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!width="85px"|Language |
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!width="85px"|Name |
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!width="85px"|Language |
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!width="85px"|Name |
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|- |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Albanian language|Albanian]] |
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|''çaj'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Amharic language|Amharic]] |
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|ሻይ ''shai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Arabic language|Arabic]] |
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|شاي ''shāy'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Assyrian Neo-Aramaic language|Aramaic]] |
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|pronounced ''chai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Assamese language|Assamese]] |
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|''saah'' |
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|- |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]] |
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|''çay'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Bengali Language|Bangla]] |
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|চা ''cha'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]] |
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|''čaj'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] |
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|чай ''chai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Pampangan language|Capampangan]] |
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|''cha'' |
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|- |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Cebuano language|Cebuano]] |
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|''tsa'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Croatian language|Croatian]] |
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|''čaj'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Czech language|Czech]] |
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|''čaj'' <sub>(2)</sub> |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[English language|English]] |
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|''chai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Persian language|Persian]] |
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|''chaay'' |
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|- |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] |
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|''tsaa'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Georgian language|Georgian]] |
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|ჩაი, ''chai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Greek language|Greek]] |
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|τσάι ''tsái'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] |
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|ચા ''cha'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Hindi]] |
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|चाय ''chai'' |
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|- |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Japanese language|Japanese]] |
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|{{lang|ja|茶}}, {{lang|ja|チャ}}, ''cha'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Kannada]] |
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|''ಚಹಾ Chaha'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] |
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|шай ''shai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]] |
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|чай, ''chai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Khasi language|Khasi]] |
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|''sha'' |
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|- |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Konkani language|Konkani]] |
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|चा ''cha'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Korean language|Korean]] |
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|茶,{{lang|ko|차}}, ''cha'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Lao language|Lao]] |
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|ชา, saa |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] |
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|чај, ''čaj'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Malayalam]] |
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|ചായ, "chaaya" |
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|- |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Marathi language|Marathi]] |
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|चहा ''chahaa'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] |
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|цай, ''tsai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Nepali language|Nepali]] |
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|''chiya'' चिया |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Oriya language|Oriya]] |
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|''cha'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Pashto language|Pashto]] |
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|چای ''chai'' |
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|- |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Persian language|Persian]] |
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|چای ''chai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] |
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|چا ''chah'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] |
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|''chá'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Romanian language|Romanian]] |
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|''ceai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Russian language|Russian]] |
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|чай, ''chai'' |
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|- |
|- |
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| {{ARG}}||{{right|0.36}} |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Serbian language|Serbian]] |
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|чај, ''čaj'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Slovak language|Slovak]] |
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|''čaj'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Slovene language|Slovene]] |
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|''čaj'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Somali language|Somali]] |
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|''shaah'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Swahili language|Swahili]] |
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|''chai'' |
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|- |
|- |
||
| {{UGA}}||{{right|0.33}} |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Sylheti language|Sylheti]] |
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|''saah'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] |
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|''tsaa'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Thai language|Thai]] |
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|ชา, chaa |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Tibetan language|Tibetan]] |
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|ཇ་ ''ja'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]] |
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|''cháayu'' |
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|- |
|- |
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|'''World''' || style="text-align:right;"| '''29.76''' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Turkish language|Turkish]] |
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|''çay'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]] |
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|''çay'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] |
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|чай ''chai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Urdu language|Urdu]] |
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|چا ٔے''chai'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]] |
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|''choy'' |
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|- |
|- |
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|colspan=2|<small>Source: [[UN Food and Agriculture Organization|(FAO)]]</small><ref name="faostat2024">{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC|title=Tea leaves production in 2022, Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity/Year (pick lists)|date=2024|publisher=UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT)|access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref> |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] |
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|*''trà'' and ''chè'' |
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| bgcolor="#eeeeee" | [[Tamil language|Tamil]] |
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|*''theyneer'' and ''tee'' |
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|cai kikuyu, (kenyan language) |
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| |
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| |
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| |
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| |
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|} |
|} |
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* <sub>(5)</sub> They are both direct derivatives of the Chinese 茶; the latter term is used mainly in the north and describes a tea made with freshly-picked leaves. |
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Tea is mainly grown in Asia and Africa, with smaller areas in South America and around the Black and Caspian Seas. The four biggest tea-producing countries are China, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka, together representing 81% of world tea production. Smaller hubs of production include such places as [[São Miguel Island, Azores]], in Portugal, and [[Guria]], in Georgia. In 2022, global production of tea was 29.8 million [[tonne]]s, led by China with 49% and India with 20% of the world total. [[Kenya]], [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Turkey]] were secondary producers.<ref name="faostat2020">{{cite web |date=2020 |title=World tea production in 2019; Crops/World Regions/Production Quantity from picklists |url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC |access-date=17 May 2022 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Statistics Division (FAOSTAT)}}</ref> |
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The Polish word for a tea-kettle is ''czajnik'', which could be derived directly from ''cha'' or from the cognate Russian word. However, tea in Polish is ''herbata'', which, as well as Lithuanian ''arbata'', was derived from the Latin ''herba thea'', meaning "tea herb". |
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=== Storage === |
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It is tempting to correlate these names with the route that was used to deliver tea to these cultures, although the relation is far from simple at times. As an example, the first tea to reach [[United Kingdom|Britain]] was traded by the Dutch from [[Fujian]], which uses ''te'', and although later most British trade went through Canton, which uses ''cha'', the Fujianese pronunciation continued to be the more popular. |
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Storage conditions determine the [[shelf life]] of tea; that of black teas is greater than that of green teas. Some, such as flower teas, may last only a month or so. Others, such as pu-erh, improve with age. To remain fresh and prevent mold, tea needs to be stored away from heat, light, air, and moisture. Tea must be kept at room temperature in an air-tight container. Black tea in a bag within a sealed opaque canister may keep for two years. Green tea deteriorates more rapidly, usually in less than a year. Tightly rolled [[gunpowder tea]] leaves keep longer than the more open-leafed [[Chun Mee tea]]. |
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In [[Ireland]], or at least in [[Dublin]], the term ''cha'' is sometimes used for "tea", as is [[Great Vowel Shift|pre-vowel-shift]] pronunciation "tay" (from which the [[Irish Gaelic]] word "tae" is derived). ''Char'' was a common [[slang]] term for tea throughout [[British Empire]] and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] military forces in the 19th and 20th centuries, crossing over into civilian usage. |
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Storage life for all teas can be extended by using [[desiccant]] or oxygen-absorbing packets, vacuum sealing, or refrigeration in air-tight containers (except green tea, where discrete use of refrigeration or freezing is recommended and temperature variation kept to a minimum).<ref>{{cite web |title=Green Tea Storage |url=http://www.o-cha.net/english/cup/pdf/29.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327174214/http://www.o-cha.net/english/cup/pdf/29.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2009 |access-date=15 July 2009}}</ref> |
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The [[British slang|British English slang]] word "char" for "tea" arose from its [[Mandarin Chinese]] pronunciation "''cha''" with its spelling affected by the fact that ''ar'' is a more common way of representing the phoneme {{IPA|/ɑː/}} in British English. |
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=== Processing and classification === |
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In [[North America]], the word ''chai'' is used to refer almost exclusively to the [[India]]n ''[[masala chai]]'' (spiced tea) beverage. |
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{{main|Tea processing}} |
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The original pronunciation "cha" in the Cantonese and Mandarin languages has no [j] ending. The forms with this ending in many Eurasian languages come from the Chinese compound word denoting "tea leaves" (Mandarin 茶叶 chá yè). {{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} The different articulations of the word for tea into the two main groups: "teh-derived" (Min Chinese dialects) and "cha-derived" (Mandarin, Cantonese and other non-Min Chinese dialects) is an interesting one, as it reveals the particular Chinese local cultures where non-Chinese nations acquired their tea and "tea cultures". Not surprisingly, India and the Arab world most likely got their tea cultures from the Cantonese or the Southwestern Mandarin speakers, whereas the Russians got theirs from the northern Mandarin speakers. The Portuguese, the first Europeans to import the herb in large amounts, took the Cantonese form "chá", as used in their trading posts in the south of China, especially [[Macau]]. Conversely, other Western Europeans who copied the Min articulation "teh" probably traded with the Hokkienese while in Southeast Asia. |
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[[File:Tea in different grade of fermentation.jpg|thumb|Teas of different levels of oxidation (L to R): green, yellow, oolong, and black]] |
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Quite recently, no earlier than 1980, "chai" entered North American English with a particular meaning: Indian masala black tea. Of course this is not the case in other languages, where "chai" usually just means black tea (as people traditionally drink more black tea than green outside of East Asia). English is thus one of the few languages that allow for the dual articulations of "tea" into a "teh-derived" word and a "cha-derived" one, such as Moroccan colloquial Arabic ([[Darija]]): in the case of [[Moroccan Arabic]], "ash-shay" means "generic, or black Middle Eastern tea" whereas "atay" means a specialty tea: Zhejiang or Fujian green tea with fresh mint leaves. The Moroccans are said to have acquired a unique penchant in the Arab world for East Chinese green tea after the ruler Mulay Hassan exchanged some European hostages captured by the Barbary Pirates for a whole ship of Chinese tea. They have thus acquired a word for this special tea different from the generic "ash-shay". See [[Moroccan tea culture]] |
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Tea is divided into categories based on how it is processed.<ref name="LiuTong">{{cite book |author=Liu Tong |title=Chinese tea |publisher= China Intercontinental Press|location=Beijing|year=2005|page=137 |isbn=978-7-5085-0835-1}}</ref> At least six different types are produced: |
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Perhaps the only place in which a word unrelated to tea is used to describe the beverage is South America (particularly Andean countries), because a similar stimulant beverage, ''[[yerba mate]]'', was consumed there long before tea arrived. |
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* [[white tea|White]]: wilted and unoxidized; |
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* [[yellow tea|Yellow]]: unwilted and unoxidized but allowed to yellow; |
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* [[green tea|Green]]: unwilted and unoxidized; |
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* [[Oolong]]: wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized; |
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* [[Black tea|Black]]: wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized (called {{lang|zh|紅茶}} [''hóngchá''], "red tea" in Chinese and other East Asian tea culture); |
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* [[Fermented tea|Post-fermented (Dark)]]: green tea that has been allowed to ferment/compost (called [[Pu'er tea|''Pu'er'']] if from the Yunnan district of South-Western China or {{lang|zh|黑茶}} [''hēichá''] "black tea" in [[Chinese tea culture]]). |
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After picking, the leaves of ''C. sinensis'' soon begin to [[Wilting|wilt]] and [[Redox|oxidize]] unless immediately dried. An [[Food browning|enzymatic oxidation]] process triggered by the plant's intracellular [[enzyme]]s causes the leaves to turn progressively darker as their [[chlorophyll]] breaks down and tannins are released. This darkening is stopped at a predetermined stage by heating, which deactivates the enzymes responsible. In the production of black teas, halting by heating is carried out simultaneously with drying. Without careful moisture and temperature control during manufacture and packaging, growth of undesired molds and bacteria may make tea unfit for consumption. |
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== Tea culture == |
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{{Main|Tea culture}} |
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In many [[culture]]s, tea is often had at high class social events, such as [[tea (meal)#afternoon tea|afternoon tea]] and the [[tea party (social gathering)|tea party]]. It may be consumed early in the day to heighten alertness; it contains [[theophylline]] and bound [[caffeine]]<ref name="ody"/> (sometimes called "[[theine]]"), |
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although there are also [[decaffeinated]] teas. In many cultures such as [[Arab culture]] tea is a focal point for social gatherings. Moreover, the history of tea in Iran - in the Persian culture- is another to explore. One source cites: "the first thing you will be offered when a guest at an Iranian household is tea".<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PNYLJakw1SQC&pg=PA75&dq=Iranian+guest+tea&ei=qD0uSf2sL4O6yATl7sBT#PPA76,M1 |author=Andrew Burke |coauthors=Mark Elliott, Kamin Mohammadi, Pat Yale|title=Iran |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] |year=2004 |isbn=1740594258 |pages=75–76}}</ref> |
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=== Blending and additives === |
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There are [[tea ceremony|tea ceremonies]] which have arisen in different cultures, [[Japan]]'s complex, formal and serene one being one of the most well known. Other examples are the [[Chinese tea ceremony]] which uses some traditional ways of brewing tea. One form of Chinese tea ceremony is the ''[[Gongfu tea ceremony]]'', which typically uses small [[Yixing clay teapot]]s and [[oolong tea]]. |
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{{further|Tea blending and additives}} |
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The American poet Wallace Stevens, a tea-fancier, is credited by Eleanor Cook with a "delicately implicit trope of drinking tea as a metaphor for reading (ingesting a drink from leaves)."<ref>Cook, p. 85</ref> See for instance his "[[Tea (poem)|Tea]]". |
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[[File:Teaprocessing.svg|thumb|left|upright=3<!--size for readability of text in image-->|Common processing methods of tea leaves]] |
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== Preparation == |
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{{See|Tea culture}} |
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[[Image:Teapot P1100116.jpg|thumb|220px|Korean tea kettle over hot coal]] |
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After basic processing, teas may be altered through additional processing steps before being sold<ref>{{cite book |title=Tea: a user's guide |last=Tony |first=Gebely |isbn=978-0-9981030-0-6 |pages=Chapter 6 |oclc=965904874 |date=October 2016|publisher=Eggs and Toast Media, LLC }}</ref> and is often consumed with additions to the basic tea leaf and water added during preparation or drinking. Examples of additional processing steps that occur before tea is sold are blending, flavouring, scenting, and decaffeination of teas. Examples of additions added at the point of consumption include milk, sugar and lemon. |
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The traditional method of making a cup of tea is to place loose tea leaves, either directly, or in a [[tea infuser]], into a [[tea pot]] or [[teacup]] and pour hot water over the leaves. After a couple of minutes the leaves are usually removed again, either by removing the infuser, or by straining the tea while serving. |
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Tea blending is the combination of different teas together to achieve the final product. Such teas may combine others from the same cultivation area or several different ones. The aim is to obtain consistency, better taste, higher price, or some combination of the three. |
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Most green teas should be allowed to steep for about three minutes, although some types of tea require as much as ten. The strength of the tea should be varied by changing the amount of tea leaves used, not by changing the steeping time. The amount of tea to be used per amount of water differs from tea to tea but one basic recipe may be one slightly heaped teaspoon of tea (about 5 ml) for each teacup of water (200 ml) (8 oz) prepared as above. Stronger teas, such as Assam, to be drunk with milk are often prepared with more leaves, and more delicate high grown teas such as a Darjeeling are prepared with a little less (as the stronger mid-flavors can overwhelm the champagne notes). |
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Flavoured and scented teas are enhancements of the base tea. This can be accomplished through directly adding flavouring agents, such as [[ginger]], [[clove]]s, [[Lamiaceae|mint leaves]], [[cardamom]], [[bergamot orange|bergamot]] (found in [[Earl Grey tea|Earl Grey]]), [[vanilla]], and [[spearmint]]. Alternatively, because tea easily retains odours, it can be placed in proximity to an aromatic ingredient to absorb its aroma, as in traditional [[jasmine tea]].<ref>Gong, Wen. Lifestyle in China. 五洲传播出版社, 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2010, from [https://books.google.com/books?id=33DE2sJEjH0C&pg=PA85] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228102221/https://books.google.com/books?id=33DE2sJEjH0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA85|date=28 December 2022}}</ref> |
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The best temperature for brewing tea depends on its type. Teas that have little or no oxidation period, such as a green or white tea, are best brewed at lower temperatures, between {{convert|65|and|85|C|F}}, while teas with longer oxidation periods should be brewed at higher temperatures around {{convert|100|°C|°F|abbr=on}}.<ref name=IPTtemp>{{cite web|author=In Pursuit of Tea|year=2005|url=http://www.inpursuitoftea.com/Brewing_Guide_s/30.htm|title=Brewing Guide |accessdate=2006-12-16}}</ref> The higher temperatures are required to extract the large, complex, flavorful phenolic molecules found in fermented tea, although boiling the water reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. |
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[[File:Nice Cup of Tea.jpg|thumb|Black tea is often taken with milk.]] |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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| '''Type''' |
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! Water Temp. |
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! Steep Time |
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! Infusions |
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|- |
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| White Tea |
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| {{convert|65|to|70|C|F}} |
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| 1–2 minutes |
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| 3 |
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|- |
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| Yellow Tea |
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| {{convert|70|to|75|C|F}} |
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| 1–2 minutes |
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| 3 |
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|- |
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| Green Tea |
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| {{convert|75|to|80|C|F}} |
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| 1–2 minutes |
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| 4-6 |
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|- |
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| Oolong Tea |
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| {{convert|80|to|85|C|F}} |
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| 2–3 minutes |
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| 4-6 |
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|- |
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| Black Tea |
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| {{convert|99|°C|°F}} |
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| 2–3 minutes |
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| 2-3 |
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|- |
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| Pu-erh Tea |
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| {{convert|95|to|100|C|F}} |
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| Limitless |
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| Several |
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|- |
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| Herbal Tea |
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| {{convert|99|°C|°F}} |
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| 3–6 minutes |
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| Varied |
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|} |
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The addition of milk to tea in Europe was first mentioned in 1680 by the epistolist [[Madame de Sévigné]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.briefguides.co.uk/content/tea.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822093059/http://www.briefguides.co.uk/content/tea.php |archive-date=22 August 2006 |title=Brief Guide to Tea |publisher=BriefGuides |year=2006 |access-date=7 November 2006}}</ref> Many teas are traditionally drunk with milk in cultures where dairy products are consumed. These include Indian [[masala chai]] and British tea blends. These teas tend to be very hearty varieties of black tea which can be tasted through the milk, such as Assams, or the East Friesian blend. Milk is thought to neutralise remaining tannins and reduce acidity.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Some tea and wine may cause cancer – tannin, found in tea and red wine, linked to esophageal cancer |journal=Nutrition Health Review |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-9164614 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119230843/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-9164614/some-tea-and-wine-may-cause-cancer |archive-date=19 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Way of Herbs |last=Tierra |first=Michael |year=1990 |publisher=Pocket Books |isbn=978-0-671-72403-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/wayofherbsfullyu00tier}}</ref> The [[Han Chinese]] do not usually drink milk with tea but the [[Manchu people|Manchus]] do, and the elite of the Qing Dynasty of the Chinese Empire continued to do so. [[Hong Kong-style milk tea]] is based on British habits. [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]] and other Himalayan peoples traditionally drink tea with milk or [[yak butter]] and salt. In Eastern European countries, and in Russia and Italy, tea is commonly served with lemon juice. In Poland, tea is traditionally served with a slice of lemon and is sweetened with either sugar or honey; tea with milk is called a ''bawarka'' ("[[Bavaria]]n style") in [[Polish language|Polish]] and is widely popular.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://glosbe.com/ |title=Bawarka in English, translation, Polish-English Dictionary |website=Glosbe |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224121219/https://glosbe.com/ |archive-date=24 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In Australia, tea with milk is known as "white tea". |
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Some tea sorts are often brewed several times using the same tea leaves. Historically, in [[China]], tea is divided into a number of infusions. The first infusion is immediately poured out to wash the tea, and then the second and further infusions are drunk. The third through fifth are nearly always considered the best infusions of tea, although different teas open up differently and may require more infusions of hot water to bring them to life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://secure.worldsourceintl.com/infusion.htm|title=Infusion Guide|publisher=Zhong Guo Cha|year=2007|accessdate=2007-05-09}}</ref> |
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The order of steps in preparing a cup of tea is a much-debated topic and can vary widely between cultures and individuals. Some say it is preferable to add the milk to the cup before the tea, as the high temperature of freshly brewed tea can denature the proteins found in fresh milk, similar to the change in taste of [[UHT]] milk, resulting in an inferior-tasting beverage.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3016342.stm |title=How to make a perfect cuppa |work=[[BBC News]] |date=25 June 2003 |access-date=28 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060722010957/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3016342.stm |archive-date=22 July 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> Others insist it is better to add the milk to the cup after the tea, as black tea is often brewed as close to boiling as possible. The addition of milk chills the beverage during the crucial brewing phase, if brewing in a cup rather than using a pot, meaning the delicate flavour of a good tea cannot be fully appreciated. By adding the milk afterwards, it is easier to dissolve sugar in the tea and to ensure the desired amount of milk is added, as the colour of the tea can be observed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2000/02/03/97177.htm |title=Biscuit Dunking Physics |first=Karl S. |last=Kruszelnicki |date=3 February 2000 |website=www.abc.net.au |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611155916/http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2000/02/03/97177.htm |archive-date=11 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Historically, the order of steps was taken as an indication of class: only those wealthy enough to afford good-quality porcelain would be confident of its being able to cope with being exposed to boiling water unadulterated with milk.<ref name="Dubrin2010">{{cite book |author=Dubrin, Beverly |title=Tea Culture: History, Traditions, Celebrations, Recipes & More |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WMcNCwcCPpgC&pg=PA24 |year=2010 |publisher=Charlesbridge Publishing |isbn=978-1-60734-363-9 |page=24 |access-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506052427/https://books.google.com/books?id=WMcNCwcCPpgC&pg=PA24 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Higher temperature difference means faster [[heat transfer]], so the earlier milk is added, the slower the drink cools. A 2007 study published in the ''European Heart Journal'' found certain [[Health effects of tea|beneficial effects of tea]] may be lost through the addition of milk.<ref name="Lorenz">{{cite journal |last1=Lorenz |first1=M. |last2=Jochmann |first2=N. |last3=Von Krosigk |first3=A. |last4=Martus |first4=P. |last5=Baumann |first5=G. |last6=Stangl |first6=K. |last7=Stangl |first7=V. |doi=10.1093/eurheartj/ehl442 |title=Addition of milk prevents vascular protective effects of tea |journal=European Heart Journal |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=219–223 |year=2006 |pmid=17213230 |doi-access=free}}</ref> |
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One way to taste a tea, throughout its entire process, is to add hot water to a cup containing the leaves and after about 30 seconds to taste the tea. As the tea leaves unfold (known as "The Agony of the Leaves") they give up various parts of themselves to the water and thus the taste evolves. Continuing this from the very first flavours to the time beyond which the tea is quite stewed will allow an appreciation of the tea throughout its entire length.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.megchittenden.com/articles/?pid=9|title=Agony of the Leaves|publisher=Margaret Chittenden|year=1999|accessdate=2007-05-09}}</ref> |
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== Packaging == |
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[[Image:Cup of Earl Gray.jpg|220px|thumb|right|Black tea infusion.]] |
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=== Black tea === |
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The water for black teas should be added near [[boiling point]] {{convert|99|°C|°F}}. Many of the active substances in black tea do not develop at temperatures lower than 90°C (195ºF). For some more delicate teas lower temperatures are recommended. The temperature will have as large an effect on the final flavor as the type of tea used. The most common fault when making black tea is to use water at too low a temperature. Since boiling point drops with increasing altitude, this makes it difficult to brew black tea properly in mountainous areas. It is also recommended that the teapot be warmed before preparing tea, easily done by adding a small amount of boiling water to the pot, swirling briefly, before discarding. Black teas are usually brewed for about 4 minutes and should not be allowed to steep for less than 30 seconds or more than about five minutes (a process known as ''brewing'' or ''mashing'' in Britain). It is commonly said that a steeping time above five minutes makes the tea bitter (at this point it is referred to as being ''stewed'' in Britain), but in reality the precise time depends on a number of factors, such as the type of tea and the water quality, and bitterness can occur as early as three minutes, or not at all even after prolonged steeping. When the tea has brewed long enough to suit the tastes of the drinker, it should be strained while serving. The popular varieties of black (red) tea include [[Assam tea]], [[Nepal tea]], [[Darjeeling tea]], [[Nilgiri tea]] and [[Tea production in Sri Lanka|Ceylon tea]]. |
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=== |
=== Tea bags === |
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Water for green tea, according to most accounts, should be around {{convert|80|to|85|C|F}}; the higher the quality of the leaves, the lower the temperature. Hotter water will burn green-tea leaves, producing a bitter taste. Preferably, the container in which the tea is steeped, the [[mug]], or teapot should also be warmed beforehand so that the tea does not immediately cool down. High-quality green and white teas can have new water added as many as five or more times, depending on variety, at increasingly high temperatures. |
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{{Main|Tea bag}} |
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===Oolong tea=== |
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[[Oolong]] teas should be brewed around {{convert|90|to|100|C|F}}, and again the brewing vessel should be warmed before pouring in the water. [[Yixing clay|Yixing purple clay]] [[teapots]] are the traditional brewing vessel for oolong tea. For best results use spring water, as the minerals in spring water tend to bring out more flavor in the tea. High quality oolong can be brewed multiple times from the same leaves, and unlike green tea it improves with reuse. It is common to brew the same leaves three to five times, the third steeping usually being the best. |
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[[File:Tea bags.jpg|thumb|Tea bags]] |
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===Premium or delicate tea=== |
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Some teas, especially green teas and delicate [[Oolong]] teas, are steeped for shorter periods, sometimes less than 30 seconds. Using a [[tea strainer]] separates the leaves from the water at the end of the brewing time if a tea bag is not being used. However, black [[Darjeeling tea]], the premium Indian tea, needs a longer than average steeping time. Elevation and time of harvest offer varying taste profiles, proper storage and water quality also have a large impact on taste. |
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In 1907, American tea merchant Thomas Sullivan began distributing samples of his tea in small bags of silk with a drawstring. Consumers noticed they could simply leave the tea in the bag and reuse it with fresh tea. However, the potential of this distribution and packaging method would not be fully realised until later. During World War II, tea was rationed in the United Kingdom. In 1953, after [[Rationing in the United Kingdom during and after World War II|rationing in the UK]] ended, [[Yorkshire]]-based tea manufacturer [[Tetley]] launched the tea bag in the UK, and it was an immediate success. |
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===Pu-erh tea (or ''Pu'er'')=== |
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[[Pu-erh]] teas require boiling water for infusion. Some prefer to quickly rinse pu-erh for several seconds with boiling water to remove tea dust which accumulates from the aging process. Infuse pu-erh at the [[boiling point]] (100 °C or 212 °F), and allow to steep for 30 seconds or up to five minutes. |
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===Serving=== |
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In order to preserve the pre-tannin tea without requiring it all to be poured into cups, a second teapot may be used. The steeping pot is best unglazed earthenware; Yixing pots are the best known of these, famed for the high quality clay from which they are made. The serving pot is generally porcelain, which retains the heat better. Larger teapots are a post-19th century invention, as tea before this time was very rare and very expensive. Experienced tea-drinkers often insist that the tea should not be stirred around while it is steeping (sometimes called ''winding'' in the UK). This, they say, will do little to strengthen the tea, but is likely to bring the tannins out in the same way that brewing too long will do. For the same reason one should not squeeze the last drops out of a teabag; if stronger tea is desired, more tea leaves should be used. |
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The "pyramid tea bag" (or sachet), introduced by Lipton<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lipton.com/en_en/jane-1,180.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430040636/http://www.lipton.com/en_en/jane-1%2C180.aspx |archive-date=30 April 2011 |title=Lipton Institute of Tea – Interview of Steve, Tea technology manager, Chapter: A Culture of Innovation |publisher=Lipton |year=2008 |access-date=26 June 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and PG Tips/Scottish Blend in 1996,<ref>{{cite web |title=PG Tips – About Us |url=http://www.pgtips.co.uk/aboutus/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070120162321/http://www.pgtips.co.uk/aboutus/|archive-date=20 January 2007 |access-date=17 February 2009 |work=pgtips.co.uk}}</ref> attempts to address one of the connoisseurs' arguments against paper tea bags by way of its three-dimensional [[tetrahedron]] shape, which allows more room for tea leaves to expand while steeping.<ref>{{Cite web|date=22 October 2011|title=Change brewing for reshaped tea market|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/change-brewing-for-reshaped-tea-market-1320676.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/change-brewing-for-reshaped-tea-market-1320676.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=17 February 2021|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref> However, some types of pyramid tea bags have been criticised as being environmentally unfriendly, since their synthetic material is not as biodegradable as loose tea leaves and paper tea bags.<ref>{{cite news |title=Most UK teabags not fully {{sic|biodeg|radeable|nolink=y}}, research reveals |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/02/teabags-biodegradeable |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=4 May 2012 |first=Rebecca |last=Smithers |date=2 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204105012/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/02/teabags-biodegradeable |archive-date=4 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> |
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===Adding milk to tea=== |
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=== Loose tea === |
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[[Image:Nice Cup of Tea.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Tea is sometimes taken with milk]]The addition of milk to tea in Europe was first mentioned in 1680 by the epistolist [[Marie de Rabutin-Chantal|Madame de Sévigné]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.briefguides.co.uk/content/tea.php|title=Brief Guide to Tea|publisher=BriefGuides|year=2006|accessdate=2006-11-07}}</ref> Many teas are traditionally drunk with milk in cultures where dairy products are consumed. These include Indian [[masala chai]], and British tea blends. These teas tend to be very hearty varieties of black tea which can be tasted through the milk, such as Assams, or the East Friesian blend. Milk is thought to neutralize remaining tannins and reduce acidity.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0876/is_n56/ai_9164614 "Some tea and wine may cause cancer - tannin, found in tea and red wine, linked to esophageal cancer"] ''[[Nutrition Health Review]]'', Fall, 1990 |
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</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Way of Herbs |last=Tierra |first=Michael |year=1990 |publisher=Pocket Books |isbn=0671724037 }}</ref> The Chinese do not usually drink milk with tea (or indeed use milk at all) but the [[Manchuria]]ns do, and the elite of the [[Manchu Dynasty]] continued to do so. [[Hong Kong-style milk tea]] is based on British colonial habits. [[Tibet]]ans and other Himalayan peoples traditionally drink tea with milk or [[yak]] butter and salt. |
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[[File:English Westminster Tea.jpg|thumb|A blend of loose-leaf black teas]] |
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The order of steps in preparing a cup of tea is a much-debated topic. Some say that it is preferable to add the milk before the tea, as the high temperature of freshly brewed tea can denature the proteins found in fresh milk, similar to the change in taste of [[Uht milk|UHT milk]], resulting in an inferior tasting beverage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3016342.stm|title=How to make a perfect cuppa|publisher=BBC News|date=2003-06-25|accessdate=2006-07-28}}</ref> Others insist that it is better to add the milk after brewing the tea, as most teas need to be brewed as close to boiling as possible. The addition of milk chills the beverage during the crucial brewing phase, if brewing in a cup rather than using a pot, meaning that the delicate flavor of a good tea cannot be fully appreciated. By adding the milk afterwards, it is easier to dissolve sugar in the tea and also to ensure that the desired amount of milk is added, as the color of the tea can be observed. |
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The tea leaves are packaged loosely in a canister, paper bag, or other container such as a [[tea chest]]. Some whole teas, such as rolled [[gunpowder tea]] leaves, which resist crumbling, are vacuum-packed for freshness in [[BoPET|aluminised packaging]] for storage and retail. The loose tea is individually measured for use, allowing for flexibility and flavour control at the expense of convenience. Strainers, [[Infuser|tea balls]], tea presses, filtered teapots, and infusion bags prevent loose leaves from floating in the tea and over-brewing. A traditional method uses a three-piece lidded teacup called a [[gaiwan]], the lid of which is tilted to decant the tea into a different cup for consumption. |
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{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}} |
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[[Image:Minttea.JPG|thumb|Moroccan tea being served. It is poured from a distance to produce a foam on the tea.]] |
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=== Compressed tea === |
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A 2007 study published in the ''European Heart Journal'' found that [[Potential effects of tea on health#Effect of milk on tea|certain beneficial effects of tea may be lost through the addition of milk]].<ref name="Lorenz">{{cite journal |
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| title = Addition of milk prevents vascular protective effects of tea |
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| author = Mario Lorenz, Nicoline Jochmann, Amélie von Krosigk, Peter Martus, Gert Baumann, Karl Stangl and Verena Stangl |
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| journal = European Heart Journal |
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| volume = 28 |
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| issue = 2 |
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| pages = 219–223 |
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| year = 2007 |
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| url = |
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| doi = 10.1093/eurheartj/ehl442 |
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| pmid = 17213230 }}</ref> |
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[[File:Xiaguan Te Ji Tuo Cha 2004.jpg|thumb|Sheng (raw) [[pu-erh]] ''[[tuo cha]]'', a type of compressed aged raw pu-erh]] |
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===Other additives=== |
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[[Tea brick]]s or compressed tea are produced for convenience in transport, storage, and ageing. It can usually be stored longer without spoilage than loose leaf tea. Compressed tea is prepared by loosening leaves from the cake using a small knife, and steeping the extracted pieces in water. During the Tang dynasty, as described by Lu Yu, compressed tea was ground into a powder, combined with hot water, and ladled into bowls, resulting in a "frothy" mixture.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=50}} In the [[Song dynasty]], the tea powder would instead be whisked with hot water in the bowl. Although no longer practiced in China today, the whisking method of preparing powdered tea was transmitted to Japan by [[Zen]] [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] monks, and is still used to prepare [[matcha]] in the [[Japanese tea ceremony]].{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=62}} Chinese [[Pu'er tea|pu-erh]] is often distributed in the form, as other teas may sometimes be. |
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{{Further|[[Tea blending and additives]]}} |
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Many flavourings are added to varieties of tea during processing. Among the best known are Chinese [[Jasmine tea]], with jasmine oil or flowers, the spices in Indian [[Masala chai]] and [[Earl Grey tea]], which contains oil of [[bergamot orange|bergamot]]. A great range of modern flavours have been added to these traditional ones.In eastern [[India]] people also drink lemon tea or lemon masala tea. Lemon tea simply contains hot tea with lemon juice and sugar. Masala lemon tea contains hot tea with roasted cumin seed powder,lemon juice,black salt and sugar which gives it tangy, spicy taste. |
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Compressed tea was the most popular form of tea in China during the Tang dynasty.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=48}} By the beginning of the Ming dynasty, it had been displaced by loose-leaf tea.{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|p=110}} It remains popular, however, in the Himalayan countries and Mongolian steppes. In Mongolia, tea bricks were ubiquitous enough to be used as a form of currency. Among Himalayan peoples, compressed tea is consumed by combining it with [[yak butter]] and salt to produce [[butter tea]].{{sfn|Mair|Hoh|2009|pp=124–36}} |
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Other popular additives to tea by the tea-brewer or drinker include [[sugar]], liquid [[honey]] or a solid [[Honey Drop]], [[lemon]] (traditional in Russia and Italy), fruit [[jam]]s, and [[Mentha|mint]]. In China sweetening tea was traditionally regarded as a feminine practice. In colder regions such as [[Mongolia]], [[Tibet]] and [[Nepal]], [[butter]] is added to provide necessary calories. Tibetan butter tea contains rock salt and dre ([[yak]]) butter, which is then churned vigorously in a cylindrical vessel closely resembling a butter churn. The same may be said for salt tea, which is consumed in some cultures in the [[Hindu Kush]] region of northern [[Pakistan]]. |
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=== Instant tea === |
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[[Alcohol]] may also be added to tea, such as [[whisky]] or [[brandy]]. |
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{{main|Instant tea}} |
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The flavor of the tea can also be altered by pouring it from different heights, resulting in varying degrees of [[Redox|oxidization]]. The art of high-altitude pouring is used principally by people in Northern Africa (e.g. [[Morocco]] and [[Libya]]), but also in West Africa (e.g. [[Guinea]], [[Mali]], [[Senegal]]) and can positively alter the flavor of the tea, but it is more likely a technique to cool the beverage destined to be consumed immediately. In certain cultures the tea is given different names depending on the height it is poured from. In [[Mali]], [[gunpowder tea]] is served in series of three, starting with the highest oxidization or strongest, unsweetened tea (cooked from fresh leaves), locally referred to as "bitter as death". Follows a second serving, where the same tea leaves are boiled again with some sugar added ("pleasant as life"), and a third one, where the same tea leaves are boiled for the third time with yet more sugar added ("sweet as love"). Green tea is the central ingredient of a distinctly Malian custom, the "Grin", informal social gathering that cuts across social and economic lines, starting in front of family compound gates in the afternoons, extending late in the night, and widely popular in [[Bamako]] and other large urban areas. |
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"Instant tea", similar to [[Freeze drying|freeze-dried]] [[instant coffee]] and an alternative to brewed tea, can be consumed either hot or cold. Instant tea was developed in the 1930s, with [[Nestlé]] introducing the first commercial product in 1946, while Redi-Tea debuted instant [[iced tea]] in 1953. Additives such as [[Masala chai|chai]], vanilla, honey or fruit, are popular, as is [[powdered milk]]. |
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In Southeast Asia, particularly in [[Malaysia]], the practice of pouring tea from a height has been refined further using black tea to which condensed milk is added, poured from a height from one cup to another several times in alternating fashion and in quick succession, to create a tea with entrapped air bubbles creating a frothy "head" in the cup. This beverage, [[teh tarik]], literally, "pulled tea", has a creamier taste than flat milk tea and is extremely popular in the region. Tea pouring in Malaysia has been further developed into an art form in which a dance is done by people pouring tea from one container to another, which in any case takes skill and precision. The participants, each holding two containers, one full of tea, pour it from one to another. They stand in lines and squares and pour the tea into each others' pots. The dance must be choreographed to allow anyone who has both pots full to empty them and refill whoever has no tea at any one point. |
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During the Second World War British and Canadian soldiers were issued an instant tea in their composite ration ("compo"<!--abbrev. of composite ration-->) packs. These blocks of instant tea, powdered milk, and sugar were not always well received. As Royal Canadian Artillery Gunner, George C Blackburn observed: |
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== Economics of tea== |
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{{See also|List of countries by tea consumption per capita}} |
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Tea is the most popular drink in the world in terms of consumption. Its consumption equals all other manufactured drinks in the world — including coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, and alcohol — put together.<ref name="Macfarlane" /> Most tea consumed outside East Asia is produced on large plantations in India or Sri Lanka, and is destined to be sold to large businesses. Opposite this large-scale industrial production there are many small "gardens", sometimes minuscule plantations, that produce highly sought-after teas prized by gourmets. These teas are both rare and expensive, and can be compared to some of the most expensive wines in this respect. |
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{{blockquote|But, unquestionably, the feature of Compo rations destined to be remembered beyond all others is Compo tea...Directions say to "sprinkle powder on heated water and bring to the boil, stirring well, three heaped teaspoons to one pint of water." |
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India is the world's largest tea-drinking nation<ref name=Sanyal/> although the per capita consumption of tea remains a modest 750 grams per person every year. [[Turkey]], with 2.5 kg of tea consumed per person per year, is the world's greatest per capita consumer.<ref>http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=208</ref> |
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Every possible variation in the preparation of this tea was tried, but...it always ended up the same way. While still too hot to drink, it is a good-looking cup of strong tea. Even when it becomes just cool enough to be sipped gingerly, it is still a good-tasting cup of tea, if you like your tea strong and sweet. But let it cool enough to be quaffed and enjoyed, and your lips will be coated with a sticky scum that forms across the surface, which if left undisturbed will become a leathery membrane that can be wound around your finger and flipped away...<ref>{{cite book |last=Blackburn |first=George |title=The Guns of Normandy: A Soldier's Eye View, France 1944 |publisher=Random House Digital, Inc. |year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kL0hdkLlovgC&pg=PT93 |isbn=978-1-55199-462-8 |access-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424075208/https://books.google.com/books?id=kL0hdkLlovgC&pg=PT93 |archive-date=24 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>}} |
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===Production=== |
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In 2003, world tea production was {{formatnum:3.21}} million tonnes annually.<ref name=FAOSTAT>Food and Agiculture Oraganization of the United Nations –Production [http://faostat.fao.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?PageID=567&lang=en FAOSTAT]. Accessed January 9, 2010</ref> In 2008, world tea production reached over {{formatnum:4.73}} million tonnes.<ref name=FAOSTAT/> The largest producers of tea are [[The People's Republic of China]], [[India]], [[Kenya]], [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Turkey]]. |
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[[File:WorldTeaProductionFAO2008.svg|thumb|Percentage of total tea production in 2008 {{Legend|#b9b9b9| Less than 0.5% or non-significant quantities}} {{Legend|#c6e9af| From 0.5 to 1%.}} {{Legend|#aade87| From 1 to 5%.}} {{Legend|#71c837| From 5 to 10%.}} {{Legend|#447821| From 10 to 20%.}} {{Legend|#2d5016| More than 20%}} |
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]] |
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=== Bottled and canned tea === |
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[[Image:Tea Production 2007.png|thumb|right|175px|Percentage of total global tea production by country in 2007]] |
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{{main|Canned tea}} |
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The follow table shows the amount of tea production (in tonnes) by leading countries in recent years. |
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Data is generated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations as of January 2010.<ref name=FAOSTAT/> |
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{| class="wikitable sortable" |
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!Country!!2006!!2007!!2008 |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|China}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:1047345}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:1183002}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:1257384}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|India}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:928000}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:949220}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:805180}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|Kenya}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:310580}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:369600}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:345800}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|Sri Lanka}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:310800}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:305220}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:318470}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|Turkey}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:201866}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:206160}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:1100257}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|Vietnam}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:151000}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:164000}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:174900}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|Indonesia}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:146858}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:150224}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:150851}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|Japan}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:91800}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:94100}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:94100}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|Argentina}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:72129}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:76000}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:76000}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|Iran}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:59180}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:60000}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:60000}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|Bangladesh}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:58000}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:58500}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:59000}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|Malawi}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:45009}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:46000}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:46000}} |
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|- |
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| align="left"|{{flag|Uganda}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:34334}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:44923}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:42808}} |
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|- |
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| align="right"|Other countries||align="right"|{{formatnum:189551}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:193782}}||align="right"|{{formatnum:205211}} |
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|-class="sortbottom" |
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!Total!!{{formatnum:3646452}}!!{{formatnum:3887308}}!!{{formatnum:4735961}} |
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|} |
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Canned tea is sold prepared and ready to drink. It was introduced in 1981 in Japan. The first bottled tea was introduced by an Indonesian tea company, PT. Sinar Sosro in 1969 with the brand name Teh Botol Sosro (or Sosro bottled tea).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sosro.com/in/tehbotol-sosro |title=PT. Sinar Sosro |access-date=29 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080750/http://www.sosro.com/in/tehbotol-sosro |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1983, Swiss-based Bischofszell Food Ltd. was the first company to bottle iced tea on an industrial scale.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bina.ch/cms/geschichte/?L=1 |title=Bischofszell Food Ltd |publisher=Bina.ch |access-date=25 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000057/http://www.bina.ch/cms/geschichte/?L=1 |archive-date=17 January 2013 }}</ref> |
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====Tea production certification==== |
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There are a number of bodies that independently certify the production of tea. Tea from certified estates can be sold with a certification label on pack. The most important certification schemes are [[Rainforest Alliance]], [[Fairtrade]], [[UTZ Certified]], and [[Organic certification|Organic]]. All these schemes certify other crops (like [[coffee]], [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]] and [[fruit]]) as well. Rainforest Alliance certified tea is sold by Unilever brands [[Lipton]] and [[PG Tips]] in Western Europe, Australia and the US. Fairtrade certified tea is sold by a large number of suppliers around the world. UTZ Certified announce a partnership in 2008 with Sara Lee brand [[Pickwick tea]]. |
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== Tea culture == |
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Production of organic tea is rising; {{formatnum:3500}} tonnes of organic tea were grown in 2003. The majority of this tea (about 75%) is sold in [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Japan]], the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]]. |
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{{main|Tea culture}} |
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{{See also|American tea culture|Argentine tea culture|Azerbaijani tea culture|Brazilian tea culture|Dominican tea culture|Tea culture in Japan|Mexican tea culture|Russian tea culture|Senegalese tea culture}} |
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In many cultures, tea is consumed at elevated social events, such as the [[tea party]]. [[Tea ceremony|Tea ceremonies]] have arisen in different cultures, such as the [[Chinese tea culture|Chinese]] and [[Japanese tea ceremony|Japanese]] traditions, each of which employs certain techniques and ritualised protocol of brewing and serving tea for enjoyment in a refined setting. One form of Chinese tea ceremony is the [[Gongfu tea ceremony]], which typically uses small [[Yixing clay teapot]]s and oolong tea. |
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[[Tea in the United Kingdom|In the United Kingdom]], 63% of people drink tea daily.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/681635/tea-consumption-daily-amount-united-kingdom-uk/ |title=• UK: average cups of tea per day 2017 | Statista |website=www.statista.com |access-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702043046/https://www.statista.com/statistics/681635/tea-consumption-daily-amount-united-kingdom-uk/ |archive-date=2 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is customary for a host to offer tea to guests soon after their arrival. Tea is consumed both at home and outside the home, often in cafés or [[teahouse|tea rooms]]. [[Tea (meal)#Afternoon tea|Afternoon tea]] with cakes on fine porcelain is a cultural stereotype. In southwest England, many cafés serve a [[cream tea]], consisting of scones, [[clotted cream]], and jam alongside a pot of tea. |
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===Trade=== |
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{{Expand|section|date=September 2009}} |
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According to the FAO, in 2007 the largest importer of tea, by weight, was the [[Russian Federation]], followed by the [[United Kingdom]], [[Pakistan]], and the [[United States]].<ref name=commodity>Food and Agiculture Oraganization of the United Nations –Trade [http://faostat.fao.org/site/342/default.aspx FAOSTAT]. Accessed January 9, 2010</ref> |
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Kenya and China were the largest exporters of tea in 2007. <ref name=commodity/> The largest exporter of black tea is Kenya.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Thompkins | first = Gwen | title = In Kenya, Tea Auction Steeped In Tradition, Gentility: NPR | url = http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112620157 | publisher = | date = | accessdate = 18 September 2009 }}</ref> |
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[[File:Tea and Biscuits (30700190145).jpg|thumb|Tea being served in [[Karbala]], Iraq]] |
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== Packaging == |
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=== Tea bags === |
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[[Image:Tea bags.jpg|thumb|right|125px|Tea Bags]] |
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In 1907, American tea merchant Thomas Sullivan began distributing samples of his tea in small bags of [[Chinese silk]] with a drawstring. Consumers noticed that they could simply leave the tea in the bag and re-use it with fresh tea. However, the potential of this distribution/packaging method would not be fully realized until later on. During [[World War II]], tea was rationed. In 1953 (after [[Rationing in the United Kingdom during and after World War II|rationing in the UK]] ended), [[Tetley]] launched the ''tea bag'' to the UK and it was an immediate success. |
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Ireland, as of 2016, was the second-biggest per capita consumer of tea in the world, after Turkey.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/507950/global-per-capita-tea-consumption-by-country/|title=Annual per capita tea consumption worldwide as of 2016, by leading countries |website=Statista|date=14 January 2016}}</ref> Local blends are the most popular in Ireland, including [[Irish breakfast tea]], using Rwandan, Kenyan and Assam teas. The annual national average of tea consumption in Ireland is 2.7 kg to 4 kg per person. [[Tea culture#Ireland|Tea in Ireland]] is usually taken with milk or sugar and brewed longer for a stronger taste.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/why-we-get-a-better-cup-in-ireland-than-all-the-tea-in-china-1.1949600 |title=Why we get a better cup in Ireland than all the tea in China |last=Pope |first=Conor |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> |
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Tea leaves are packed into a small envelope (usually composed of paper) known as a [[tea bag]]. The use of tea bags is easy and convenient, making tea bags popular for many people today. However, the tea used in tea bags has an industry name—it is called [[fannings]] or "dust" and is the waste product produced from the sorting of higher quality loose leaf tea, although this certainly is not true for all brands of tea, especially in the case of many specialty, high quality teas now available in bag form.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}} It is commonly held among tea aficionados that this method provides an inferior taste and experience. The paper used for the bag can also be tasted by many, which can detract from the tea's flavor. Because fannings and dust are a lower quality of the tea to begin with, the tea found in tea bags is less finicky when it comes to brewing time and temperature. |
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[[Tea in Turkey|Turkish tea]] is an important part of [[Turkish cuisine|that country's cuisine]] and is the most commonly consumed hot drink, despite the country's long history with coffee. In 2004, Turkey produced 205,500 tonnes of tea (6.4% of the global total), which made it one of the largest tea markets in the world,<ref name="quantity">{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/105404/index.html|title=World tea production reaches new highs|work=fao.org|access-date=3 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428045119/http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/105404/index.html|archive-date=28 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> with 120,000 tons being consumed in Turkey and the rest being exported.<ref name="tea">''About Turkey: Geography, Economics, Politics, Religion and Culture'', Rashid and Resit Ergener, Pilgrims' Process, 2002, {{ISBN|0-9710609-6-7}}, p. 41</ref> In 2010, Turkey had the highest per capita consumption in the world at 2.7 kg.<ref name="Indian Tea Industry Report">{{cite press release |url=http://agritrade.iift.ac.in/html/Training/ASEAN%20%E2%80%93%20India%20FTA%20%20Emerging%20Issues%20for%20Trade%20in%20Agriculture/Tea%20Export.pdf |title=Capacity Building Program on International Trade |publisher=Ministry of Agriculture |access-date=26 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611133413/http://agritrade.iift.ac.in/html/Training/ASEAN%20%E2%80%93%20India%20FTA%20%20Emerging%20Issues%20for%20Trade%20in%20Agriculture/Tea%20Export.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2014 }}</ref> As of 2013, the per-capita consumption of Turkish tea exceeds 10 cups per day and 13.8 kg per year.<ref>{{cite news |title=En çok çay ve karpuz tüketiyoruz (in Turkish)/ We consume a lot of tea and watermelon |author=Turkish Statistical Institute |url=http://www.cnnturk.com/2013/ekonomi/genel/08/11/en.cok.cay.ve.karpuz.tuketiyoruz/719067.0/ |newspaper=[[CNN Türk]] |date=11 August 2013 |access-date=24 August 2013 |author-link=Turkish Statistical Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191721/http://www.cnnturk.com/2013/ekonomi/genel/08/11/en.cok.cay.ve.karpuz.tuketiyoruz/719067.0/ |archive-date=29 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Tea is grown mostly in [[Rize Province]] on the Black Sea coast.<ref>"tea"</ref> |
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Additional reasons why bag tea is considered less well-flavored include: |
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* Dried tea loses its flavor quickly on exposure to air. Most bag teas (although not all) contain leaves broken into small pieces; the great [[surface area to volume ratio]] of the leaves in tea bags exposes them to more air, and therefore causes them to go stale faster. Loose tea leaves are likely to be in larger pieces, or to be entirely intact. |
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* Breaking up the leaves for bags extracts flavored oils. |
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* The small size of the bag does not allow leaves to diffuse and steep properly. |
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* Some tea bags are made using a wet paper strength-reinforcing coating using [[epichlorohydrin]], a known [[carcinogen]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Oxirane, (chloromethyl)- (Epichlorohydrin) CAS No. 106-89-8|url=http://www.chemicalsubstanceschimiques.gc.ca/challenge-defi/batch-lot-2/106-89-8_e.html|accessdate=2009-10-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=EPA Consumer Factsheet on: EPICHLOROHYDRIN|url=http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/dw_contamfs/epichlor.html|accessdate=2009-10-11}}</ref> |
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[[File:South Indian tea seller.jpg|thumb|upright|left|South Indian woman preparing a cup of morning tea in the traditional South Indian way]] |
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{{clear}} |
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[[Russian tea culture|Russia has a long, rich tea history]] dating to 1638 when tea was introduced to [[Michael I of Russia|Tsar Michael]]. Social gatherings were considered incomplete without tea, which was traditionally brewed in a [[samovar]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tea in Russia |url=https://www.alimentarium.org/en/knowledge/tea-russia |website=Alimentarium |access-date=3 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929103430/https://www.alimentarium.org/en/knowledge/tea-russia |archive-date=29 September 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> |
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In Pakistan, both black and green teas are popular and are known locally as ''sabz chai'' and ''[[kahwah]]'', respectively. The popular green tea is often served after every meal in the [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] belt of [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] and in [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]. In central and southern Punjab and the metropolitan Sindh region of Pakistan, tea with milk and sugar (sometimes with pistachios, cardamom, etc.), commonly referred to as ''chai'', is widely consumed. It is the most common beverage of households in the region. In the northern Pakistani regions of [[Chitral]] and [[Gilgit-Baltistan]], a salty, buttered [[Butter tea|Tibetan-style tea]] is consumed. |
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=== Pyramid tea bags === |
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[[Image:Pyramid Tea Bag.JPG|right|thumb|125px|Pyramid tea bag]] |
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[[Indian tea culture]] is strong; the drink is the most popular hot beverage in the country. It is consumed daily<ref>{{Cite web|title=A majority of Indians think theirs is a tea-drinking nation|url=https://business.yougov.com/content/26569-majority-indians-think-theirs-tea-drinking-nation|access-date=3 August 2020|website=YouGov: What the world thinks|language=en-IN}}</ref> in almost all houses, offered to guests, consumed in high amounts in domestic and official surroundings, and is made with the addition of milk with or without spices, and usually sweetened. It is sometimes served with biscuits to be dipped in the tea and eaten before consuming the tea. More often than not, it is drunk in "doses" of small cups (referred to as "cutting" chai if sold at street tea vendors) rather than one large cup. |
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The "pyramid tea bag", introduced by [[Lipton]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lipton.com/en_en/jane-1,180.aspx|title=Lipton Institute of Tea - Interview of Steve, Tea technology manager, Chapter: A Culture of Innovation|publisher=Lipton|year=2008|accessdate=2008-06-26}}</ref> and [[PG Tips]] in 1996,<ref>{{cite web|title=PG Tips - About Us|url=http://www.pgtips.co.uk/aboutus/|accessdate=2009-02-17}}</ref> has a unique design that addresses one of connoisseurs' arguments against paper tea bags, because its three-dimensional [[tetrahedron]] shape allows more room for tea leaves to expand while steeping. However, some types of pyramid tea bags have been criticized as being environmentally unfriendly, since their synthetic material does not break down in landfills as loose tea leaves and paper tea bags do.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teaandcoffee.net/0305/tea.htm|title=The New Shape |
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of Teabags|publisher=Tea & Coffee Trade Journal|year=2005|accessdate=2007-05-09}}</ref> |
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[[File:Iranian tea.jpg|alt=tea in narrow waist glass|thumb|150px|Iranians usually drink tea with rock candy or ghand and in glass cups.]] |
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{{clear}} |
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[[Iranian peoples|Iranians]] have one of the highest per capita rates of tea consumption in the world. ''Châikhânes'' ([[teahouse]]s) are common in Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 November 2018 |title=Persian Tea {{!}} Everything You Need to Know |url=http://www.persianfoodtours.com/persian-tea/ |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=Persian Food Tour |language=en-US}}</ref> Iranian tea is typically served in traditional Iranian glasses with a traditional saucer and teaspoon. Tea is cultivated in [[northern Iran]] along the shores of the [[Caspian Sea]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Persian Tea |url=http://www.tdefilm.ir/News/www.tdefilm.ir |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=TDE}}</ref> |
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=== Loose tea === |
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[[Image:Loose leaf darjeeling tea twinings.jpg|thumb|Loose-leaf tea]] |
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In Burma ([[Myanmar]]), tea is consumed not only as hot drinks, but also as [[sweet tea]] and green tea known locally as ''laphet-yay'' and ''laphet-yay-gyan'', respectively. Pickled tea leaves, known locally as ''[[lahpet]]'', are a national delicacy. Pickled tea is usually eaten with roasted sesame seeds, crispy fried beans, roasted peanuts and fried garlic chips.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xTk20rPq1dUC |title=Burma: Rivers of Flavor |first=Naomi |last=Duguid |isbn=978-1-57965-413-9 |year=2012|publisher=Artisan }}</ref> |
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The tea leaves are packaged loosely in a canister or other container. Rolled [[gunpowder tea]] leaves, which resist crumbling, are commonly vacuum packed for freshness in [[PET film (biaxially oriented)|aluminized packaging]] for storage and retail. The portions must be individually measured by the consumer for use in a cup, mug, or teapot. This allows greater flexibility, letting the consumer brew weaker or stronger tea as desired, but convenience is sacrificed. Strainers, "tea presses", filtered teapots, and infusion bags are available commercially to avoid having to drink the floating loose leaves and to prevent over-brewing. A more traditional, yet perhaps more effective way around this problem is to use a three-piece lidded teacup, called a [[gaiwan]]. The lid of the gaiwan can be tilted to decant the leaves while pouring the tea into a different cup for consumption. |
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In Mali, [[gunpowder tea]] is served in series of three, starting with the highest oxidisation or strongest, unsweetened tea, locally referred to as "strong like death", followed by a second serving, where the same tea leaves are boiled again with some sugar added ("pleasant as life"), and a third one, where the same tea leaves are boiled for the third time with yet more sugar added ("sweet as love"). Green tea is the central ingredient of a distinctly Malian custom, the "Grin", an informal social gathering that cuts across social and economic lines, starting in front of family compound gates in the afternoons and extending late into the night, and is widely popular in [[Bamako]] and other large urban areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Malian Tea Ceremony |url=https://www.virtualgreenteamuseum.de/malianteaceremony.php |website=Virtual Green Tea Museum |access-date=3 May 2024}}</ref> |
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{{clear}} |
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=== Compressed tea === |
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Some teas (particularly [[Pu-erh tea]]) are still compressed for transport, storage, and aging convenience. The [[tea brick]] remains in use in the Himalayan countries. The tea is prepared and steeped by first loosening leaves off the compressed cake using a small knife. [[Compressed tea]]s can usually be stored for longer periods of time without spoilage when compared with loose leaf tea. |
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In the United States, 80% of tea is consumed as [[iced tea]].<ref>"Tea". Modern Marvels television (program). The History Channel. Broadcast 15 October 2010.</ref> [[Sweet tea]] is native to the [[Southeastern United States|southeastern U.S.]] and is iconic in its cuisine due to its refreshing temperature and large amount of [[White sugar|sweetener]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://gpbnews.org/post/sweet-tea-history-nectar-south|title=Sweet Tea: A History of the 'Nectar Of The South'|last=Powers|first=Sean|access-date=14 March 2019|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129132033/http://www.gpbnews.org/post/sweet-tea-history-nectar-south|archive-date=29 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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=== Instant tea === |
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In recent times, "instant teas" are becoming popular, similar to [[Freeze drying|freeze dried]] [[instant coffee]]. Instant tea was developed in the 1930s, but not commercialized until the late 1950s, and is only more recently becoming popular. These products often come with added flavors, such as [[vanilla]], [[honey]] or [[fruit]], and may also contain [[powdered milk]]. Similar products also exist for instant [[iced tea]], due to the convenience of not requiring boiling water. Tea [[connoisseurs]] tend to criticize these products for sacrificing the delicacies of tea flavor in exchange for convenience. |
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<gallery mode=packed heights=180 widths=180> |
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=== Canned tea === |
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File:Turkish tea2.jpg|[[Turkish tea]] served in a typical small glass and corresponding plate |
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[[Canned tea]] was first [[Canned tea#History|launched]] in 1981 in Japan. As such, it is a fairly recent innovation, and it has mostly benefits in [[marketing]]. |
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File:English_teaware.jpg|English teaware |
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File:Iced Tea from flickr.jpg|upright=0.8|[[Iced tea]] with a slice of lemon |
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File:South Indian tea (5399611578).jpg|Indian masala tea |
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File:Classic bubble tea.jpg|[[Bubble tea]] |
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File:Hibiscus tea.jpg|[[Hibiscus tea]] |
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File:Cha yen.JPG|[[Thai tea]] |
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</gallery> |
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== |
== Economics == |
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Ftc Fair trade tea.jpg|thumb|right|150px|An example of a box of ethically grown [[fair trade]] [[Sri Lanka]]n tea bought in the [[UK]].|{{deletable image-caption|1=Friday, 27 June 2008}}]] --> |
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Tea has a [[shelf life]] that varies with storage conditions and type of tea. Black tea has a longer shelf life than green tea. Some teas such as flower teas may go bad in a month or so. An exception, [[Pu-erh tea]] improves with age. Tea stays freshest when stored in a dry, cool, dark place in an air-tight container. Black tea stored in a bag inside a sealed opaque canister may keep for two years. Green tea loses its freshness more quickly, usually in less than a year. [[Gunpowder tea]], its leaves being tightly rolled, keeps longer than the more open-leafed [[Chun Mee tea]]. Storage life for all teas can be extended by using [[desiccant]] packets or oxygen absorbing packets, and by vacuum sealing. |
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=== Producers and consumers === |
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When storing green tea, discreet use of refrigeration or freezing is recommended. In particular, drinkers need to take precautions against temperature variation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.o-cha.net/english/cup/pdf/29.pdf |title=Green Tea Storage |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> |
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{{further|List of countries by tea consumption per capita}} |
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Improperly stored tea may lose flavor, acquire disagreeable flavors or odors from other foods, or become moldy.<!-- Before re-adding "Tea in popular culture" please see the talk page for discussion. --> |
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[[File:Tea factory, Pinglin.jpg|thumb|Tea factory in [[Taiwan]]]] |
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<gallery> |
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Image:Da Hong Pao Oolong tea leaf close.jpg|[[Da Hong Pao tea]] an [[Oolong]] tea |
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Tea is the most popular manufactured drink consumed in the world, equaling all others – including coffee, soft drinks, and alcohol – combined.<ref name="Macfarlane" /> Most tea consumed outside East Asia is produced on large plantations in the hilly regions of India and Sri Lanka and is destined to be sold to large businesses. Opposite this large-scale industrial production are many small "gardens," sometimes minuscule plantations, that produce highly sought-after teas prized by gourmets. These teas are both rare and expensive and can be compared to some of the most expensive wines in this respect.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} |
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Image:Bai Hao Yin Zhen tea leaf (Fuding).jpg|Fuding [[Bai Hao Yinzhen tea]], a [[white tea]] |
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Image:Xiaguan Te Ji Tuo Cha 2004.jpg|Green [[Pu-erh]] [[tuo cha]], a type of compressed raw pu-erh |
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India is the world's largest tea-drinking nation,<ref name=Sanyal /> although the per capita consumption of tea remains a modest {{convert|750|g|oz}} per person every year. Turkey, with {{convert|2.5|kg|lboz}} of tea consumed per person per year, is the world's greatest per capita consumer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=208 |title=Turkey: Second biggest tea market in the world |date=13 May 2013 |access-date=25 November 2012 |author=Euromonitor International |work=Market Research World |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000057/http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=208 |archive-date=17 January 2013 }}</ref> |
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Image:Huoshan_Huangya_tea_leaves_close.jpg|[[Huoshan Huangya tea]], a [[Yellow tea]] |
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</gallery> |
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=== Certification === |
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Several bodies independently certify the production of tea, such as [[Rainforest Alliance]], [[Fairtrade certification|Fairtrade]], [[UTZ Certified]], and [[Organic certification|Organic]]. From 2008 to 2016, sustainability standards-certified tea production experienced a compound annual growth rate of about 35%, accounting for at least 19% of overall tea production. In 2016, at least 1.15 million tonnes of sustainably certified tea was produced, valued at US$2 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Voora, V., Bermudez, S., and Larrea, C.|date=2019|title=Global Market Report: Tea|url=https://www.iisd.org/ssi/commodities/tea-coverage/|website=State of Sustainability Initiatives}}</ref> |
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Rainforest Alliance certified tea is sold by [[Unilever]] brands [[Lipton]] and [[PG Tips]] in Western Europe, Australia and the U.S. Fairtrade certified tea is sold by a large number of suppliers around the world. UTZ Certified tea is sold by [[Pickwick tea]].{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} |
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Production of organic tea has risen since its introduction in 1990 at Rembeng, Kondoli Tea Estate, [[Assam]].<ref>Tocklai Tea Research Station Report</ref> {{formatnum:6000}} tons of organic tea were sold in 1999.<ref>United Nations. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (2002). ''Organic Agriculture and Rural Poverty Alleviation: Potential and Best Practices in Asia''. United Nations Publications. pp. 62–63. {{ISBN|92-1-120138-1}}</ref> |
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<!-- |
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Before re-adding "Tea in popular culture" please see the talk page for discussion. |
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--> |
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== Issues == |
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===Safety === |
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Tests of commercially popular teas have detected residues of banned toxic [[pesticide]]s.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-unilever-china-quality-idUSBRE83N0AT20120424 |title=Greenpeace says finds tainted Lipton tea bags in China |last=Blanchard |first=Ben |date=24 April 2012 |newspaper=Reuters |location=Beijing |access-date=26 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402225630/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/24/us-unilever-china-quality-idUSBRE83N0AT20120424 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/pesticide-traces-in-some-tea-exceed-allowable-limits-1.2564624 |title=Pesticide traces in some tea exceed allowable limits |last=Griffith-Greene |first=Megar |date=8 March 2014 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=26 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317230357/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/pesticide-traces-in-some-tea-exceed-allowable-limits-1.2564624 |archive-date=17 March 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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=== Fraud === |
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Tea is a common target of [[food fraud]]. Lower cost ingredients may be substituted for tea, or a tea may be adulterated with undeclared and possibly toxic colors and flavors. The origin of the tea, picking season, and the processing techniques may be intentionally misidentified. Tea powders which undergo additional processing are more susceptible to food fraud.<ref name="Hellman">{{cite book |last1=Hellberg |first1=Rosalee S. |last2=Everstine |first2=Karen |last3=Sklare |first3=Steven A. |title=Food Fraud: A Global Threat with Public Health and Economic Consequences |date=30 November 2020 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-817243-8 |pages=143–145 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dZThDwAAQBAJ&q=%22weight+%22+%22food+fraud%22+china |language=en|chapter=Chapter 8. Coffee and Tea fraud}}</ref> |
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=== Labour === |
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Tea production in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda uses [[child labour]], according to the [[U.S. Department of Labor]]'s ''[[List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor]].''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/|title=List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor|work=dol.gov|access-date=21 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319225451/https://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/|archive-date=19 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Workers who pick and pack tea on plantations in developing countries can face harsh working conditions and may earn below the [[living wage]].<ref name="waronwant">{{cite web|url=http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/fighting-supermarket-power/tea-industry/inform/16999-a-bitter-cup|title=A Bitter Cup|publisher=[[War on Want]]|access-date=27 July 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919011759/http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/fighting-supermarket-power/tea-industry/inform/16999-a-bitter-cup|archive-date=19 September 2010}}</ref> |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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{{columns-list|3| |
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{{div col|colwidth=25em}} |
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* [[Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford]] |
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* [[Builder's tea]] |
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* [[Cha: An Asian Literary Journal]] A tea-inspired online literary journal based in Hong Kong. |
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* [[Chaiwala]] |
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* [[Chifir']], extra-strong tea drunk in the [[Gulag]] |
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* [[English Breakfast tea]] |
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* [[Flowering tea]], a type of tea that opens up when steeped |
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* [[Frederick John Horniman]] |
* [[Frederick John Horniman]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Indian Tea Association]] |
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* [[International Tea Day]] |
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* [[ISO 3103]], a method of brewing tea according to the [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]]. |
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* [[ |
* [[ISO 3103]], a standardized method for brewing tea |
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* [[Kaempferol]] a flavanoid found in green and black teas and associated with reduced risk of heart disease |
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* [[Kombucha]], drink produced from bacteria and [[yeast]] grown on tea |
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* [[Lapsang souchong]] |
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* [[List of tea companies]] |
* [[List of tea companies]] |
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* [[Phenolic content in tea]] |
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* [[List of countries by tea consumption per capita]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Ryukyuan tea ceremony]] |
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* [[Tea classics]], historical monographs of East Asian tea |
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* [[Mate (beverage)|Mate]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Tea leaf grading]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Tea pet]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Tea strainer]] |
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* [[Tea tasting]] |
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* [[Pouchong]], a tea in between green and oolong |
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* [[Prince of Wales tea blend]] |
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* [[Sideritis]], also known as ''Shepherd's tea'' |
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* [[Tasseography]], a method of [[divination]] by reading tea leaves. |
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* [[Tieguanyin]] |
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}} |
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; Other drinks: |
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== Notes == |
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* [[Burmese milk tea]] |
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* [[Butterfly pea flower tea]] |
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* [[Cannabis tea]] |
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* [[Chifir']], Russian extra-strong tea brew |
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* [[Herbal tea]] |
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* [[Kombucha]], a fermented tea drink |
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* [[List of Chinese teas]] |
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* [[List of hot beverages]] |
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* [[List of national drinks]] |
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* [[Maghrebi mint tea]] |
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* [[Mushroom tea]] |
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* [[Yaupon tea]] |
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{{div col end}} |
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== References == |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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=== Citations === |
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{{reflist|30em|refs= |
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<ref name=Lysaght>{{cite journal |author=Lysaght, Patricia |title=When I makes Tea, I makes Tea: the case of Tea in Ireland |journal=Ulster Folklife |volume=33 |year=1987 |pages=48–49}}</ref> |
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<!-- Unused reference<ref name="Indrani Dutta">{{cite news |last=Dutta |first=Indrani |title=Tea production crosses 1 billion kg-mark| newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |page=12 |location=Chennai |date=26 January 2013 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/tea-production-crosses-1-billion-kgmark/article4345149.ece}}</ref> --> |
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==References== |
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<ref name="Mondal">{{cite book |last=Mondal |first=T. K. |year=2007 |contribution=Tea |editor-last=Pua |editor-first=E.C. |editor2-last=Davey |editor2-first=M.R. |title=Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry |location=Berlin |publisher=Springer |volume=60: Transgenic Crops V |pages=519–20 |isbn=978-3-540-49160-6}}</ref> |
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{{refbegin|2}} |
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* Jana Arcimovičová, Pavel Valíček (1998): ''Vůně čaje'', Start Benešov. ISBN 80-902005-9-1 (in Czech) |
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*Claud Bald: Indian Tea. A Textbook on the Culture and Manufacture of Tea. Fifth Edition. Thoroughly Revised and Partly Rewritten by C.J. Harrison. Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta 1940 (first edition, 1933). |
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* Kit Chow, Ione Kramer (1990): ''All the Tea in China'', China Books & Periodicals Inc. ISBN 0-8351-2194-1 References are to Czech translation by Michal Synek (1998): ''Všechny čaje Číny'', DharmaGaia Praha. ISBN 80-85905-48-5 |
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* Cook, Eleanor. ''A Reader's Guide to Wallace Stevens''. 2007: Princeton University Press. |
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* John C. Evans (1992): ''Tea in China: The History of China's National Drink'',Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-28049-5 |
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*C.R. Harler, C.R.: The Culture and Marketing of Tea. Second edition. Oxford University Press, New York and Bombay, Reprinted 1958 (First edition 1933, second edition 1956). |
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*Eelco Hesse (1982), ''Tea: The eyelids of Bodhidharma'', Prism Press. ISBN 0-907061-05-0 |
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* {{Cite journal | last = Hobhouse | first = Henry | title = Seeds of Change: Six Plants that Transformed Mankind | year = 2005 | publisher = Shoemaker & Hoard | id = ISBN 1593760493}} |
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* Lu Yu (陆羽): ''Cha Jing'' (茶经) (The classical book on tea). References are to Czech translation of modern-day edition (1987) by Olga Lomová (translator): ''Kniha o čaji''. Spolek milců čaje, Praha, 2002. (in Czech) |
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* [[Roy Moxham]] (2003), ''Tea: Addiction, Exploitation, and Empire'' |
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* Jane Pettigrew (2002), ''A Social History of Tea'' |
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* [[Stephan Reimertz]] (1998): ''Vom Genuß des Tees: Eine heitere Reise durch alte Landschaften, ehrwürdige Traditionen und moderne Verhältnisse, inklusive einer kleinen Teeschule'' (In German) |
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* {{Cite journal | last=Yamamoto | first=T | last2=Kim | first2=M | last3=Juneja | first3=L R | year=1997 | title=Chemistry and Applications of Green Tea | publisher=CRC Press}}. |
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* James Norwood Pratt (2005), ''Tea Dictionary'' |
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* {{Cite book | year=2000 | editor-last=Kiple | editor-first=Kenneth F. | editor2-last=Ornelas | editor2-first=Kriemhild Coneè | title=The Cambridge World History of Food | publication-place=Cambridge | publisher=Cambridge University Press | volume=1 | isbn =0521402166}}. |
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* {{Cite book | last=Mondal | first=T.K. | year=2007 | contribution=Tea | editor-last=Pua | editor-first=E.C. | editor2-last=Davey | editor2-first=M.R. | title=Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry | publication-place=Berlin | publisher=Springer | volume=60: ''Transgenic Crops V'' | pages=519–535 | isbn =3540491600}}. |
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* {{Cite news| last = Sanyal| first = Amitava| title = How India came to be the largest tea drinking nation| newspaper = [[Hindustan Times]]| pages = 12|location = New Delhi| date = April 13, 2008| url = http://in.news.yahoo.com/hindustantimes/20080413/r_t_ht_nl_features/tnl-how-india-came-to-be-the-largest-tea-6b6720b.html| format = {{Dead link|date=May 2009}}}}. |
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* {{Cite news| last = Karmakar| first = Rahul| title = The Singpho: The cup that jeers| newspaper = [[Hindustan Times]]| pages = 12|location = New Delhi| date = April 13, 2008| url = http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=9f771c3d-6527-4859-964d-49ffa5cf4133}}. |
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* Lester Packer, Choon Nam Ong, Barry Halliwell (2004): ''Herbal and Traditional Medicine: Molecular Aspects of Health'', CRC Press, ISBN 0824754360 |
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* {{Cite journal | last=Nutrition | year=1999 | month=Nov-Dec | title=[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10575676 Tea and Health.] | volume=15 | pages=946–949 | pmid=10575676}} |
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* {{Cite journal | last=Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health | year=1999 | title=[http://jech.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/53/8/481 Coffee and tea consumption in the Scottish Heart Health Study follow up: conflicting relations with coronary risk factors, coronary disease, and all cause mortality] | volume=53 | pages=481–487 | pmid = 10562866}} |
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{{refend}} |
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<ref name="Sanyal">{{cite news |last=Sanyal |first=Amitava |title=How India came to be the largest tea drinking nation |newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] |page=12 |location=New Delhi |date=13 April 2008 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1460940491.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611022230/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1460940491.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 June 2014}}</ref> |
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== External links == |
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{{commons}} |
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{{Wiktionary}} |
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{{wikiquote}} |
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<ref name="Yamamoto">{{cite book |last1=Yamamoto |first1=T |last2=Kim |first2=M |last3=Juneja |first3=L R |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-8493-4006-2 |title=Chemistry and Applications of Green Tea |publisher=CRC Press |page=4 |quote=For a long time, botanists have asserted the dualism of tea origin from their observations that there exist distinct differences in the morphological characteristics between Assamese varieties and Chinese varieties... Hashimoto and Shimura reported that the differences in the morphological characteristics in tea plants are not necessarily the evidence of the dualism hypothesis from the researches using the statistical cluster analysis method. In recent investigations, it has also been made clear that both varieties have the same chromosome number (n=15) and can be easily hybridised with each other. In addition, various types of intermediate hybrids or spontaneous polyploids of tea plants have been found in a wide area extending over the regions mentioned above. These facts may prove that the place of origin of ''Camellia sinensis'' is in the area including the northern part of the Burma, Yunnan, and Sichuan districts of China.}}</ref> |
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*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20040429.shtml BBC 4 Radio - Tea] |
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=== General sources === |
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{{Teas}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Benn |first=James A. |title=Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XF17CAAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Hong Kong University Press]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-988-8208-73-9 }} |
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{{Agriculture country lists|state=collapsed}} |
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* {{cite book |last1=Heiss |first1=Mary Lou |last2=Heiss |first2=Robert J. |title=The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofteacultur0000heis |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Ten Speed Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-58008-745-2 }} |
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* {{cite book |last1=Mair |first1=Victor H. |last2=Hoh |first2=Erling |title=The True History of Tea |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_TR_PQAACAAJ |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-500-25146-1 }} |
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* {{cite book |last=Martin |first=Laura C. |title=Tea: The Drink that Changed the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJ2j_bX6WTUC&pg=PA8 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8048-3724-8 |ol=OL1956186W|oclc=1159227468|ref=Martin}} |
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==External links== |
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[[Category:Caffeine]] |
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{{Sister project links|wikt=tea|commons=Category:Tea|q=yes|b=Cookbook:Tea|voy=yes|d=Q6097|s=Category:Tea|species=Camellia sinensis|n=Category:Tea}} |
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Latest revision as of 04:38, 13 November 2024
Type | Hot or cold beverage |
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Country of origin | China[1] |
Introduced | First recorded in China in 59 BC, possibly originated earlier[2] |
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northern Myanmar.[3][4][5] Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of Camellia taliensis.[6][7][8] After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world.[9] There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour,[10] while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans, primarily due to its caffeine content.[11]
An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the third century AD, in a medical text written by Chinese physician Hua Tuo.[12] It was popularised as a recreational drink during the Chinese Tang dynasty, and tea drinking subsequently spread to other East Asian countries. Portuguese priests and merchants introduced it to Europe during the 16th century.[13] During the 17th century, drinking tea became fashionable among the English, who started to plant tea on a large scale in British India.
The term herbal tea refers to drinks not made from Camellia sinensis. They are the infusions of fruit, leaves, or other plant parts, such as steeps of rosehip, chamomile, or rooibos. These may be called tisanes or herbal infusions to prevent confusion with tea made from the tea plant.
Etymology
The etymology of the various words for tea reflects the history of transmission of tea drinking culture and trade from China to countries around the world.[14] Nearly all of the words for tea worldwide fall into three broad groups: te, cha and chai, present in English as tea, cha or char, and chai. The earliest of the three to enter English is cha, which came in the 1590s via the Portuguese, who traded in Macao and picked up the Cantonese pronunciation of the word.[15][16] The more common tea form arrived in the 17th century via the Dutch, who acquired it either indirectly from the Malay teh, or directly from the tê pronunciation in Min Chinese.[15] The third form chai (meaning "spiced tea") originated from a northern Chinese pronunciation of cha, which travelled overland to Central Asia and Persia where it picked up a Persian ending yi. The Chinese word for tea itself was likely ultimately derived from the non-Sinitic languages of the botanical homeland of the tea plant in southwest China (or Burma), possibly from an archaic Austro-Asiatic root word *la, meaning "leaf".[17]
Origin and history
Botanical origin
Tea plants are native to East Asia and the probable center of origin of tea is near the source of the Irrawaddy River from where it spread out fan-wise into southeast China, Indo-China and Assam. Thus, the natural home of the tea plant is considered to be within the comparatively small fan-shaped area between Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram along the Burma frontier in the west, through China as far as the Zhejiang Province in the east, and from this line generally south through the hills to Burma and Thailand to Vietnam. The west–east axis indicated above is about 2,400 km long extending from longitude 95°-120°E. The north–south axis covers about 1,920 km, starting from the northern part of Burma, latitude 29°N passing through Yunnan, Tongkin, Thailand, Laos and on to Annan, reaching latitude 11°N.[18]
Chinese (small-leaf) type tea (C. sinensis var. sinensis) may have originated in southern China possibly with hybridization of unknown wild tea relatives. However, since there are no known wild populations of this tea, its origin is speculative.[19][20]
Given their genetic differences forming distinct clades, Chinese Assam-type tea (C. sinensis var. assamica) may have two different parentages – one being found in southern Yunnan (Xishuangbanna, Pu'er City) and the other in western Yunnan (Lincang, Baoshan). Many types of Southern Yunnan Assam tea have been hybridized with the closely related species Camellia taliensis. Unlike Southern Yunnan Assam tea, Western Yunnan Assam tea shares many genetic similarities with Indian Assam-type tea (also C. sinensis var. assamica). Thus, Western Yunnan Assam tea and Indian Assam tea both may have originated from the same parent plant in the area where southwestern China, Indo-Burma, and Tibet meet. However, as the Indian Assam tea shares no haplotypes with Western Yunnan Assam tea, Indian Assam tea is likely to have originated from an independent domestication. Some Indian Assam tea appears to have hybridized with the species Camellia pubicosta.[19][20]
Assuming a generation of 12 years, Chinese small-leaf tea is estimated to have diverged from Assam tea around 22,000 years ago, while Chinese Assam tea and Indian Assam tea diverged 2,800 years ago. The divergence of Chinese small-leaf tea and Assam tea would correspond to the last glacial maximum.[19][20]
Early tea drinking
People in ancient East Asia ate tea for centuries, perhaps even millennia, before ever consuming it as a beverage. They would nibble on the leaves raw, add them to soups or greens, or ferment them and chew them as areca nut is chewed.[22][page needed]
Tea drinking may have begun in the region of Yunnan, where it was used for medicinal purposes. It is believed that in Sichuan, "people began to boil tea leaves for consumption into a concentrated liquid without the addition of other leaves or herbs, thereby using tea as a bitter yet stimulating drink, rather than as a medicinal concoction."[5]
Chinese legends attribute the invention of tea to the mythical Shennong (in central and northern China) in 2737 BC, although evidence suggests that tea drinking may have been introduced from the southwest of China (Sichuan/Yunnan area).[21] The earliest written records of tea come from China. The word tú 荼 appears in the Shijing and other ancient texts to signify a kind of "bitter vegetable" (苦菜), and it is possible that it referred to many different plants such as sow thistle, chicory, or smartweed,[23] as well as tea.[24] In the Chronicles of Huayang, it was recorded that the Ba people in Sichuan presented tu to the Zhou king. The Qin later conquered the state of Ba and its neighbour Shu, and according to the 17th century scholar Gu Yanwu who wrote in Ri Zhi Lu (日知錄): "It was after the Qin had taken Shu that they learned how to drink tea."[2] Another possible early reference to tea is found in a letter written by the Qin dynasty general Liu Kun who requested that some "real tea" to be sent to him.[25]
The earliest known physical evidence[26] of tea was discovered in 2016 in the mausoleum of Emperor Jing of Han in Xi'an, indicating that tea from the genus Camellia was drunk by Han dynasty emperors as early as the second century BC.[27] The Han dynasty work "The Contract for a Youth", written by Wang Bao in 59 BC,[28] contains the first known reference to boiling tea. Among the tasks listed to be undertaken by the youth, the contract states that "he shall boil tea and fill the utensils" and "he shall buy tea at Wuyang".[2] The first record of tea cultivation is dated to this period, during which tea was cultivated on Meng Mountain (蒙山) near Chengdu.[29] Another early credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century AD, in a medical text by the Chinese physician Hua Tuo, who stated, "to drink bitter t'u constantly makes one think better."[30] However, before the Tang dynasty, tea-drinking was primarily a southern Chinese practice centered in Jiankang.[31] Tea was disdained by the Northern dynasties aristocrats, who describe it as inferior to yogurt.[32][33] It became widely popular during the Tang dynasty, when it spread to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. The Classic of Tea, a treatise on tea and its preparations, was written by the 8th century Chinese writer, Lu Yu. He was known to have influenced tea drinking on a large part in China.[34]
Developments
Through the centuries, a variety of techniques for processing tea, and a number of different forms of tea, were developed. During the Tang dynasty, tea was steamed, then pounded and shaped into cake form,[35] while in the Song dynasty, loose-leaf tea was developed and became popular. During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, unoxidized tea leaves were first stirred in a hot dry pan, then rolled and air-dried, a process that stops the oxidation process that would have turned the leaves dark, thereby allowing tea to remain green. In the 15th century, oolong tea, in which the leaves are allowed to partially oxidize before being heated in the pan, was developed.[31] Western tastes, however, favoured the fully oxidized black tea, and the leaves were allowed to oxidize further. Yellow tea was an accidental discovery in the production of green tea during the Ming dynasty, when apparently careless practices allowed the leaves to turn yellow, which yielded a different flavour.[36]
Worldwide spread
Tea was first introduced to Western priests and merchants in China during the 16th century, at which time it was termed chá.[13] The earliest European reference to tea, written as chiai, came from Delle navigationi e viaggi written by Venetian Giambattista Ramusio in 1545.[37] The first recorded shipment of tea by a European nation was in 1607 when the Dutch East India Company moved a cargo of tea from Macao to Java, then two years later, the Dutch bought the first assignment of tea which was from Hirado in Japan to be shipped to Europe.[38] Tea became a fashionable drink in The Hague in the Netherlands, and the Dutch introduced the drink to Germany, France, and across the Atlantic to New Amsterdam (New York).[39]
In 1567, Russian people came in contact with tea when the Cossack Atamans Petrov and Yalyshev visited China.[40] The Mongolian Khan donated to Tsar Michael I four poods (65–70 kg) of tea in 1638.[41] According to Jeremiah Curtin,[42] it was possibly in 1636[43] that Vassili Starkov was sent as envoy to the Altyn Khan. He was given 250 pounds of tea as a gift to the tsar. Starkov at first refused, seeing no use for a load of dead leaves, but the Khan insisted. Thus was tea introduced to Russia. In 1679, Russia concluded a treaty on regular tea supplies from China via camel caravan in exchange for furs. It is today considered the de facto national beverage.
The first record of tea in English came from a letter written by Richard Wickham, who ran an East India Company office in Japan, writing to a merchant in Macao requesting "the best sort of chaw" in 1615. Peter Mundy, a traveller and merchant who came across tea in Fujian in 1637, wrote, "chaa – only water with a kind of herb boyled in it".[44][45] Tea was sold in a coffee house in London in 1657, Samuel Pepys tasted tea in 1660, and Catherine of Braganza took the tea-drinking habit to the English court when she married Charles II in 1662. Tea, however, was not widely consumed in the British Isles until the 18th century and remained expensive until the latter part of that period. English drinkers preferred to add sugar and milk to black tea, and black tea overtook green tea in popularity in the 1720s.[46] Tea smuggling during the 18th century led to the general public being able to afford and consume tea. The British government removed the tax on tea, thereby eliminating the smuggling trade, by 1785.[47] In Britain and Ireland, tea was initially consumed as a luxury item on special occasions, such as religious festivals, wakes, and domestic work gatherings. The price of tea in Europe fell steadily during the 19th century, especially after Indian tea began to arrive in large quantities; by the late 19th century tea had become an everyday beverage for all levels of society.[48] The popularity of tea played a role in historical events – the Tea Act of 1773 provoked the Boston Tea Party that escalated into the American Revolution. The need to address the issue of British trade deficit because of the trade in tea resulted in the Opium Wars. The Qing Kangxi Emperor had banned foreign products from being sold in China, decreeing in 1685 that all goods bought from China must be paid for in silver coin or bullion.[49] Traders from other nations then sought to find another product, in this case opium, to sell to China to earn back the silver they were required to pay for tea and other commodities. The subsequent attempts by the Chinese Government to curtail the trade in opium led to war.[50]
Chinese small-leaf-type tea was introduced into India in 1836 by the British in an attempt to break the Chinese monopoly on tea.[51] In 1841, Archibald Campbell brought seeds of Chinese tea from the Kumaun region and experimented with planting tea in Darjeeling. The Alubari tea garden was opened in 1856, and Darjeeling tea began to be produced.[52] In 1848, Robert Fortune was sent by the East India Company on a mission to China to bring the tea plant back to Great Britain. He began his journey in high secrecy as his mission occurred in the lull between the First Opium War and the Second Opium War.[53] The Chinese tea plants he brought back were introduced to the Himalayas, though most did not survive. The British had discovered that a different variety of tea was endemic to Assam and the northeast region of India, which was then hybridized with Chinese small-leaf-type tea. Using Chinese planting and cultivation techniques, the British colonial government established a tea industry by offering land in Assam to any European who agreed to cultivate it for export.[51] Tea was originally consumed only by Anglo-Indians; however, it became widely popular in India in the 1950s because of a successful advertising campaign by the India Tea Board.[51] The British introduced tea industry to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1867.[54]
Chemical composition
Physically speaking, tea has properties of both a solution and a suspension. It is a solution of the water-soluble compounds extracted from the tea leaves, such as the polyphenols and amino acids. Tea infusions are among most consumed beverages globally.[55]
Caffeine makes up about 3% of tea's dry weight, which translates to between 30 and 90 milligrams per 250-millilitre (8+1⁄2 US fl oz) cup depending on the type, brand,[56] and brewing method.[57] A study found that the caffeine content of one gram of black tea ranged from 22 to 28 mg, while the caffeine content of one gram of green tea ranged from 11 to 20 mg, reflecting a significant difference.[58] Tea contains small amounts of theobromine and theophylline, which are xanthines and stimulants, similar to caffeine.[59]
The astringency in tea can be attributed to the presence of polyphenols. These are the most abundant compounds in tea leaves, making up 30–40% of their composition.[60] Polyphenols in tea include flavonoids, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and other catechins.[61][62] Although there has been preliminary clinical research on whether green or black teas may protect against various human diseases, there is no evidence that tea polyphenols have any effect on health or lowering disease risk.[63][64]
Health effects
Although health benefits have been assumed throughout the history of Camellia sinensis's consumption, there is no high-quality evidence showing that tea consumption gives significant benefits other than possibly increasing alertness, an effect caused by caffeine in the tea leaves.[65][66] In clinical research conducted in the early 21st century, it was found there is no scientific evidence to indicate that consuming tea affects any disease or improves health.[65]
Black and green teas contain no essential nutrients in significant amounts, with the exception of the dietary mineral manganese, at 0.5 mg per cup or 26% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI).[67] Fluoride is sometimes present in tea; certain types of "brick tea", made from old leaves and stems, have the highest levels, enough to pose a health risk if much tea is drunk, which has been attributed to high levels of fluoride in soils, acidic soils, and long brewing.[68]
Cultivation and harvesting
Camellia sinensis is an evergreen plant that grows mainly in tropical and subtropical climates.[69] Some varieties can tolerate oceanic climates and are cultivated as far north as Cornwall in England,[70] Perthshire in Scotland,[71] Washington in the United States,[72] and Vancouver Island in Canada.[73] In the Southern Hemisphere, tea is grown as far south as Hobart in Tasmania[74][75] and Waikato in New Zealand.[76]
Tea plants are propagated from seed and cuttings; about 4 to 12 years are needed for a plant to bear seed and about three years before a new plant is ready for harvesting.[69] In addition to a zone 8 climate or warmer, tea plants require at least 127 cm (50 in) of rainfall per year and prefer acidic soils.[77] Many high-quality tea plants are cultivated at elevations of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. Though at these heights the plants grow more slowly, they acquire a better flavour.[78]
Two principal varieties are used: Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, which is used for most Chinese, Formosan and Japanese teas, and C. sinensis var. assamica, used in Pu-erh and most Indian teas (but not Darjeeling). Within these botanical varieties, many strains and modern clonal varieties are known. Leaf size is the chief criterion for the classification of tea plants, with three primary classifications being:[79] Assam type, characterised by the largest leaves; China type, characterised by the smallest leaves; and Cambodian type, characterised by leaves of intermediate size. The Cambodian-type tea (C. assamica subsp. lasiocaly) was originally considered a type of Assam tea. However, later genetic work showed that it is a hybrid between Chinese small-leaf tea and Assam-type tea.[80] Darjeeling tea appears to be a hybrid between Chinese small-leaf tea and Assam-type large-leaf tea.[20]
A tea plant will grow into a tree of up to 16 m (52 ft) if left undisturbed,[69] but cultivated plants are generally pruned to waist height for ease of plucking. The short plants bear more new shoots which provide new and tender leaves and increase the quality of the tea.[81] Only the top 2.5–5 centimetres (1–2 in) of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called 'flushes'.[82] A plant will grow a new flush every 7 to 15 days during the growing season. Leaves that are slow in development tend to produce better-flavoured teas.[69] Several teas are available from specified flushes; for example, Darjeeling tea is available as first flush (at a premium price), second flush, monsoon and autumn. Assam second flush or "tippy" tea is considered superior to first flush, because of the gold tips that appear on the leaves.
Pests that can afflict tea plants include mosquito bugs, genus Helopeltis, which are true bugs and not to be confused with dipterous insects of family Culicidae ('mosquitos'). Mosquito bugs can damage leaves both by sucking plant materials, and by the laying of eggs (oviposition) within the plant. Spraying with synthetic insecticides may be deemed appropriate.[83] Other pests are Lepidopteran leaf feeders and various tea diseases.
Production
Country | Million tonnes |
---|---|
China | 14.53
|
India | 5.97
|
Kenya | 2.33
|
Sri Lanka | 1.40
|
Turkey | 1.30
|
Vietnam | 1.12
|
Indonesia | 0.60
|
Bangladesh | 0.44
|
Argentina | 0.36
|
Uganda | 0.33
|
World | 29.76 |
Source: (FAO)[84] |
Tea is mainly grown in Asia and Africa, with smaller areas in South America and around the Black and Caspian Seas. The four biggest tea-producing countries are China, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka, together representing 81% of world tea production. Smaller hubs of production include such places as São Miguel Island, Azores, in Portugal, and Guria, in Georgia. In 2022, global production of tea was 29.8 million tonnes, led by China with 49% and India with 20% of the world total. Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Turkey were secondary producers.[85]
Storage
Storage conditions determine the shelf life of tea; that of black teas is greater than that of green teas. Some, such as flower teas, may last only a month or so. Others, such as pu-erh, improve with age. To remain fresh and prevent mold, tea needs to be stored away from heat, light, air, and moisture. Tea must be kept at room temperature in an air-tight container. Black tea in a bag within a sealed opaque canister may keep for two years. Green tea deteriorates more rapidly, usually in less than a year. Tightly rolled gunpowder tea leaves keep longer than the more open-leafed Chun Mee tea.
Storage life for all teas can be extended by using desiccant or oxygen-absorbing packets, vacuum sealing, or refrigeration in air-tight containers (except green tea, where discrete use of refrigeration or freezing is recommended and temperature variation kept to a minimum).[86]
Processing and classification
Tea is divided into categories based on how it is processed.[87] At least six different types are produced:
- White: wilted and unoxidized;
- Yellow: unwilted and unoxidized but allowed to yellow;
- Green: unwilted and unoxidized;
- Oolong: wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized;
- Black: wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized (called 紅茶 [hóngchá], "red tea" in Chinese and other East Asian tea culture);
- Post-fermented (Dark): green tea that has been allowed to ferment/compost (called Pu'er if from the Yunnan district of South-Western China or 黑茶 [hēichá] "black tea" in Chinese tea culture).
After picking, the leaves of C. sinensis soon begin to wilt and oxidize unless immediately dried. An enzymatic oxidation process triggered by the plant's intracellular enzymes causes the leaves to turn progressively darker as their chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. This darkening is stopped at a predetermined stage by heating, which deactivates the enzymes responsible. In the production of black teas, halting by heating is carried out simultaneously with drying. Without careful moisture and temperature control during manufacture and packaging, growth of undesired molds and bacteria may make tea unfit for consumption.
Blending and additives
After basic processing, teas may be altered through additional processing steps before being sold[88] and is often consumed with additions to the basic tea leaf and water added during preparation or drinking. Examples of additional processing steps that occur before tea is sold are blending, flavouring, scenting, and decaffeination of teas. Examples of additions added at the point of consumption include milk, sugar and lemon.
Tea blending is the combination of different teas together to achieve the final product. Such teas may combine others from the same cultivation area or several different ones. The aim is to obtain consistency, better taste, higher price, or some combination of the three.
Flavoured and scented teas are enhancements of the base tea. This can be accomplished through directly adding flavouring agents, such as ginger, cloves, mint leaves, cardamom, bergamot (found in Earl Grey), vanilla, and spearmint. Alternatively, because tea easily retains odours, it can be placed in proximity to an aromatic ingredient to absorb its aroma, as in traditional jasmine tea.[89]
The addition of milk to tea in Europe was first mentioned in 1680 by the epistolist Madame de Sévigné.[90] Many teas are traditionally drunk with milk in cultures where dairy products are consumed. These include Indian masala chai and British tea blends. These teas tend to be very hearty varieties of black tea which can be tasted through the milk, such as Assams, or the East Friesian blend. Milk is thought to neutralise remaining tannins and reduce acidity.[91][92] The Han Chinese do not usually drink milk with tea but the Manchus do, and the elite of the Qing Dynasty of the Chinese Empire continued to do so. Hong Kong-style milk tea is based on British habits. Tibetans and other Himalayan peoples traditionally drink tea with milk or yak butter and salt. In Eastern European countries, and in Russia and Italy, tea is commonly served with lemon juice. In Poland, tea is traditionally served with a slice of lemon and is sweetened with either sugar or honey; tea with milk is called a bawarka ("Bavarian style") in Polish and is widely popular.[93] In Australia, tea with milk is known as "white tea".
The order of steps in preparing a cup of tea is a much-debated topic and can vary widely between cultures and individuals. Some say it is preferable to add the milk to the cup before the tea, as the high temperature of freshly brewed tea can denature the proteins found in fresh milk, similar to the change in taste of UHT milk, resulting in an inferior-tasting beverage.[94] Others insist it is better to add the milk to the cup after the tea, as black tea is often brewed as close to boiling as possible. The addition of milk chills the beverage during the crucial brewing phase, if brewing in a cup rather than using a pot, meaning the delicate flavour of a good tea cannot be fully appreciated. By adding the milk afterwards, it is easier to dissolve sugar in the tea and to ensure the desired amount of milk is added, as the colour of the tea can be observed.[95] Historically, the order of steps was taken as an indication of class: only those wealthy enough to afford good-quality porcelain would be confident of its being able to cope with being exposed to boiling water unadulterated with milk.[96] Higher temperature difference means faster heat transfer, so the earlier milk is added, the slower the drink cools. A 2007 study published in the European Heart Journal found certain beneficial effects of tea may be lost through the addition of milk.[97]
Packaging
Tea bags
In 1907, American tea merchant Thomas Sullivan began distributing samples of his tea in small bags of silk with a drawstring. Consumers noticed they could simply leave the tea in the bag and reuse it with fresh tea. However, the potential of this distribution and packaging method would not be fully realised until later. During World War II, tea was rationed in the United Kingdom. In 1953, after rationing in the UK ended, Yorkshire-based tea manufacturer Tetley launched the tea bag in the UK, and it was an immediate success.
The "pyramid tea bag" (or sachet), introduced by Lipton[98] and PG Tips/Scottish Blend in 1996,[99] attempts to address one of the connoisseurs' arguments against paper tea bags by way of its three-dimensional tetrahedron shape, which allows more room for tea leaves to expand while steeping.[100] However, some types of pyramid tea bags have been criticised as being environmentally unfriendly, since their synthetic material is not as biodegradable as loose tea leaves and paper tea bags.[101]
Loose tea
The tea leaves are packaged loosely in a canister, paper bag, or other container such as a tea chest. Some whole teas, such as rolled gunpowder tea leaves, which resist crumbling, are vacuum-packed for freshness in aluminised packaging for storage and retail. The loose tea is individually measured for use, allowing for flexibility and flavour control at the expense of convenience. Strainers, tea balls, tea presses, filtered teapots, and infusion bags prevent loose leaves from floating in the tea and over-brewing. A traditional method uses a three-piece lidded teacup called a gaiwan, the lid of which is tilted to decant the tea into a different cup for consumption.
Compressed tea
Tea bricks or compressed tea are produced for convenience in transport, storage, and ageing. It can usually be stored longer without spoilage than loose leaf tea. Compressed tea is prepared by loosening leaves from the cake using a small knife, and steeping the extracted pieces in water. During the Tang dynasty, as described by Lu Yu, compressed tea was ground into a powder, combined with hot water, and ladled into bowls, resulting in a "frothy" mixture.[102] In the Song dynasty, the tea powder would instead be whisked with hot water in the bowl. Although no longer practiced in China today, the whisking method of preparing powdered tea was transmitted to Japan by Zen Buddhist monks, and is still used to prepare matcha in the Japanese tea ceremony.[103] Chinese pu-erh is often distributed in the form, as other teas may sometimes be.
Compressed tea was the most popular form of tea in China during the Tang dynasty.[104] By the beginning of the Ming dynasty, it had been displaced by loose-leaf tea.[105] It remains popular, however, in the Himalayan countries and Mongolian steppes. In Mongolia, tea bricks were ubiquitous enough to be used as a form of currency. Among Himalayan peoples, compressed tea is consumed by combining it with yak butter and salt to produce butter tea.[106]
Instant tea
"Instant tea", similar to freeze-dried instant coffee and an alternative to brewed tea, can be consumed either hot or cold. Instant tea was developed in the 1930s, with Nestlé introducing the first commercial product in 1946, while Redi-Tea debuted instant iced tea in 1953. Additives such as chai, vanilla, honey or fruit, are popular, as is powdered milk.
During the Second World War British and Canadian soldiers were issued an instant tea in their composite ration ("compo") packs. These blocks of instant tea, powdered milk, and sugar were not always well received. As Royal Canadian Artillery Gunner, George C Blackburn observed:
But, unquestionably, the feature of Compo rations destined to be remembered beyond all others is Compo tea...Directions say to "sprinkle powder on heated water and bring to the boil, stirring well, three heaped teaspoons to one pint of water." Every possible variation in the preparation of this tea was tried, but...it always ended up the same way. While still too hot to drink, it is a good-looking cup of strong tea. Even when it becomes just cool enough to be sipped gingerly, it is still a good-tasting cup of tea, if you like your tea strong and sweet. But let it cool enough to be quaffed and enjoyed, and your lips will be coated with a sticky scum that forms across the surface, which if left undisturbed will become a leathery membrane that can be wound around your finger and flipped away...[107]
Bottled and canned tea
Canned tea is sold prepared and ready to drink. It was introduced in 1981 in Japan. The first bottled tea was introduced by an Indonesian tea company, PT. Sinar Sosro in 1969 with the brand name Teh Botol Sosro (or Sosro bottled tea).[108] In 1983, Swiss-based Bischofszell Food Ltd. was the first company to bottle iced tea on an industrial scale.[109]
Tea culture
In many cultures, tea is consumed at elevated social events, such as the tea party. Tea ceremonies have arisen in different cultures, such as the Chinese and Japanese traditions, each of which employs certain techniques and ritualised protocol of brewing and serving tea for enjoyment in a refined setting. One form of Chinese tea ceremony is the Gongfu tea ceremony, which typically uses small Yixing clay teapots and oolong tea.
In the United Kingdom, 63% of people drink tea daily.[110] It is customary for a host to offer tea to guests soon after their arrival. Tea is consumed both at home and outside the home, often in cafés or tea rooms. Afternoon tea with cakes on fine porcelain is a cultural stereotype. In southwest England, many cafés serve a cream tea, consisting of scones, clotted cream, and jam alongside a pot of tea.
Ireland, as of 2016, was the second-biggest per capita consumer of tea in the world, after Turkey.[111] Local blends are the most popular in Ireland, including Irish breakfast tea, using Rwandan, Kenyan and Assam teas. The annual national average of tea consumption in Ireland is 2.7 kg to 4 kg per person. Tea in Ireland is usually taken with milk or sugar and brewed longer for a stronger taste.[112]
Turkish tea is an important part of that country's cuisine and is the most commonly consumed hot drink, despite the country's long history with coffee. In 2004, Turkey produced 205,500 tonnes of tea (6.4% of the global total), which made it one of the largest tea markets in the world,[113] with 120,000 tons being consumed in Turkey and the rest being exported.[114] In 2010, Turkey had the highest per capita consumption in the world at 2.7 kg.[115] As of 2013, the per-capita consumption of Turkish tea exceeds 10 cups per day and 13.8 kg per year.[116] Tea is grown mostly in Rize Province on the Black Sea coast.[117]
Russia has a long, rich tea history dating to 1638 when tea was introduced to Tsar Michael. Social gatherings were considered incomplete without tea, which was traditionally brewed in a samovar.[118]
In Pakistan, both black and green teas are popular and are known locally as sabz chai and kahwah, respectively. The popular green tea is often served after every meal in the Pashtun belt of Balochistan and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In central and southern Punjab and the metropolitan Sindh region of Pakistan, tea with milk and sugar (sometimes with pistachios, cardamom, etc.), commonly referred to as chai, is widely consumed. It is the most common beverage of households in the region. In the northern Pakistani regions of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan, a salty, buttered Tibetan-style tea is consumed.
Indian tea culture is strong; the drink is the most popular hot beverage in the country. It is consumed daily[119] in almost all houses, offered to guests, consumed in high amounts in domestic and official surroundings, and is made with the addition of milk with or without spices, and usually sweetened. It is sometimes served with biscuits to be dipped in the tea and eaten before consuming the tea. More often than not, it is drunk in "doses" of small cups (referred to as "cutting" chai if sold at street tea vendors) rather than one large cup.
Iranians have one of the highest per capita rates of tea consumption in the world. Châikhânes (teahouses) are common in Iran.[120] Iranian tea is typically served in traditional Iranian glasses with a traditional saucer and teaspoon. Tea is cultivated in northern Iran along the shores of the Caspian Sea.[121]
In Burma (Myanmar), tea is consumed not only as hot drinks, but also as sweet tea and green tea known locally as laphet-yay and laphet-yay-gyan, respectively. Pickled tea leaves, known locally as lahpet, are a national delicacy. Pickled tea is usually eaten with roasted sesame seeds, crispy fried beans, roasted peanuts and fried garlic chips.[122]
In Mali, gunpowder tea is served in series of three, starting with the highest oxidisation or strongest, unsweetened tea, locally referred to as "strong like death", followed by a second serving, where the same tea leaves are boiled again with some sugar added ("pleasant as life"), and a third one, where the same tea leaves are boiled for the third time with yet more sugar added ("sweet as love"). Green tea is the central ingredient of a distinctly Malian custom, the "Grin", an informal social gathering that cuts across social and economic lines, starting in front of family compound gates in the afternoons and extending late into the night, and is widely popular in Bamako and other large urban areas.[123]
In the United States, 80% of tea is consumed as iced tea.[124] Sweet tea is native to the southeastern U.S. and is iconic in its cuisine due to its refreshing temperature and large amount of sweetener.[125]
-
Turkish tea served in a typical small glass and corresponding plate
-
English teaware
-
Iced tea with a slice of lemon
-
Indian masala tea
Economics
Producers and consumers
Tea is the most popular manufactured drink consumed in the world, equaling all others – including coffee, soft drinks, and alcohol – combined.[9] Most tea consumed outside East Asia is produced on large plantations in the hilly regions of India and Sri Lanka and is destined to be sold to large businesses. Opposite this large-scale industrial production are many small "gardens," sometimes minuscule plantations, that produce highly sought-after teas prized by gourmets. These teas are both rare and expensive and can be compared to some of the most expensive wines in this respect.[citation needed]
India is the world's largest tea-drinking nation,[126] although the per capita consumption of tea remains a modest 750 grams (26 oz) per person every year. Turkey, with 2.5 kilograms (5 lb 8 oz) of tea consumed per person per year, is the world's greatest per capita consumer.[127]
Certification
Several bodies independently certify the production of tea, such as Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, UTZ Certified, and Organic. From 2008 to 2016, sustainability standards-certified tea production experienced a compound annual growth rate of about 35%, accounting for at least 19% of overall tea production. In 2016, at least 1.15 million tonnes of sustainably certified tea was produced, valued at US$2 billion.[128]
Rainforest Alliance certified tea is sold by Unilever brands Lipton and PG Tips in Western Europe, Australia and the U.S. Fairtrade certified tea is sold by a large number of suppliers around the world. UTZ Certified tea is sold by Pickwick tea.[citation needed]
Production of organic tea has risen since its introduction in 1990 at Rembeng, Kondoli Tea Estate, Assam.[129] 6,000 tons of organic tea were sold in 1999.[130]
Issues
Safety
Tests of commercially popular teas have detected residues of banned toxic pesticides.[131][132]
Fraud
Tea is a common target of food fraud. Lower cost ingredients may be substituted for tea, or a tea may be adulterated with undeclared and possibly toxic colors and flavors. The origin of the tea, picking season, and the processing techniques may be intentionally misidentified. Tea powders which undergo additional processing are more susceptible to food fraud.[133]
Labour
Tea production in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda uses child labour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.[134] Workers who pick and pack tea on plantations in developing countries can face harsh working conditions and may earn below the living wage.[135]
See also
- Builder's tea
- Chaiwala
- Frederick John Horniman
- Indian Tea Association
- International Tea Day
- ISO 3103, a standardized method for brewing tea
- List of tea companies
- Phenolic content in tea
- Ryukyuan tea ceremony
- Tea classics, historical monographs of East Asian tea
- Tea leaf grading
- Tea pet
- Tea strainer
- Tea tasting
- Other drinks
- Burmese milk tea
- Butterfly pea flower tea
- Cannabis tea
- Chifir', Russian extra-strong tea brew
- Herbal tea
- Kombucha, a fermented tea drink
- List of Chinese teas
- List of hot beverages
- List of national drinks
- Maghrebi mint tea
- Mushroom tea
- Yaupon tea
References
Citations
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- ^ a b c Mair & Hoh 2009, pp. 29–30.
- ^ Yamamoto, T; Kim, M; Juneja, L R (1997). Chemistry and Applications of Green Tea. CRC Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8493-4006-2.
For a long time, botanists have asserted the dualism of tea origin from their observations that there exist distinct differences in the morphological characteristics between Assamese varieties and Chinese varieties... Hashimoto and Shimura reported that the differences in the morphological characteristics in tea plants are not necessarily the evidence of the dualism hypothesis from the researches using the statistical cluster analysis method. In recent investigations, it has also been made clear that both varieties have the same chromosome number (n=15) and can be easily hybridised with each other. In addition, various types of intermediate hybrids or spontaneous polyploids of tea plants have been found in a wide area extending over the regions mentioned above. These facts may prove that the place of origin of Camellia sinensis is in the area including the northern part of the Burma, Yunnan, and Sichuan districts of China.
- ^ Mary Lou Heiss; Robert J. Heiss. The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide.
Camellia sinensis originated in southeast Asia, specifically around the intersection of 29th parallel and 98th meridian, the point of confluence of the lands of southwest China and Tibet
, north Burma, and northeast India, citing Mondal (2007) p. 519 - ^ a b Heiss & Heiss 2007, pp. 6–7.
- ^ "Laoshu Dianhong (Old Tree Yunnan)".
- ^ "Yunnan da Bai Silver Needles – Tea Trekker".
- ^ Liu et al. (2012)
- ^ a b Macfarlane, Alan; Macfarlane, Iris (2004). The Empire of Tea. The Overlook Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-58567-493-0.
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- ^ a b c d Meegahakumbura MK, Wambulwa MC, Li MM, et al. (2018). "Domestication origin and breeding history of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) in China and India based on nuclear microsatellites and cpDNA sequence data". Frontiers in Plant Science. 8: 2270. doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.02270. PMC 5788969. PMID 29422908.
- ^ a b Yee, L.K., Tea's Wonderful History, The Chinese Historical and Cultural Project, archived from the original on 3 August 2002, retrieved 17 June 2013,
year 1996–2012
- ^ George Van Driem (2019). Tale of Tea: A Comprehensive History of Tea: From Prehistoric Times to the Present Day. BRILL. ISBN 978-9004386259.
- ^ Benn 2015, p. 22.
- ^ Mair & Hoh 2009, pp. 264–65.
- ^ Kit Boey Chow; Ione Kramer (1990). All the Tea in China. Sinolingua. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0-8351-2194-1. Archived from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
- ^ "Archaeologists discover world's oldest tea buried with ancient Chinese emperor". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ Houyuan Lu; et al. (7 January 2016). "Earliest tea as evidence for one branch of the Silk Road across the Tibetan Plateau". Nature. 6: 18955. Bibcode:2016NatSR...618955L. doi:10.1038/srep18955. PMC 4704058. PMID 26738699.
- ^ "World's oldest tea found in Chinese emperor's tomb". Phys.org. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
The oldest written reference to tea is from the year 59 BC.
- ^ Mair & Hoh 2009, pp. 30–31.
- ^ Bennett Alan Weinberg, Bonnie K. Bealer (2001). The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug. Routledge. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-415-92722-2. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ a b Benn 2015, p. 42.
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- ^ Scott Pearce; Audrey G. Spiro; Patricia Buckley Ebrey, eds. (2001). Culture and Power in the Reconstitution of the Chinese Realm, 200–600. Harvard University Asia Center. p. 22. ISBN 0-674-00523-6.
- ^ Miranda Brown (2 March 2022). "The Medieval Influencer Who Convinced the World to Drink Tea—Not Eat It". Atlas Obscura.
- ^ Mair & Hoh 2009, pp. 39–41.
- ^ Mair & Hoh 2009, p. 118.
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- ^ Jeremiah Curtin, A Journey to Southern Siberia, 1909, chapter one
- ^ Basil Dymytryshyn, Russia's Conquest of Siberia: A Documentary Record, 1985, volume one, document 48 (he was an envoy that year, but the tea may have been given on a later visit to the Khan)
- ^ Paul Chrystal (2014). Tea: A Very British Beverage. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-3360-2. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
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- ^ Lysaght, Patricia (1987). "When I makes Tea, I makes Tea: the case of Tea in Ireland". Ulster Folklife. 33: 48–49.
- ^ Goldstone, Jack A. (2016). Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World: Population Change and State Breakdown in England, France, Turkey, and China, 1600–1850; 25th Anniversary Edition. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-40860-6.
- ^ Lovell, Julia (2012). The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China. Picador. ISBN 978-1-4472-0410-7.
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Ironically, it was the British who introduced tea drinking to India, initially to anglicized Indians. Tea did not become a mass drink there until the 1950s when the India Tea Board, faced with a surplus of low-grade tea, launched an advertising campaign to popularize it in the north, where the drink of choice was milk.
- ^ Mair & Hoh 2009, p. 214.
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{{cite web}}
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