TEA TIMES
A. The chances are that you have already drunk a cup or glass of tea today.
Perhaps, you are sipping one as you read this. Tea, now an everyday beverage
in many parts of the world, has over the centuries been an important part of
rituals of hospitality both in the home and in wider society.
B. Tea originated in China, and in Eastern Asia tea making and drinking
ceremonies have been popular for centuries. Tea was first shipped to North
Western Europe by English and Dutch maritime traders in the sixteenth
century. At about the same time, a land route from the Far East, via Moscow, to
Europe was opened up. Tea also figured in America's bid for independence
from British rule - the Boston Tea Party.
C. As, over the last four hundred years, tea-leaves became available throughout
much of Asia and Europe, the ways in which tea was drunk changed. The
Chinese considered the quality of the leaves and the ways in which they were
cured all important. People in other cultures added new ingredients besides tea-
leaves and hot water. They drank tea with milk, sugar, spices like cinnamon
and cardamom, and herbs such as mint or sage. The variations are endless. For
example, in Western Sudan on the edge of the Sahara Desert, sesame oil is
added to milky tea on cold mornings. In England tea, unlike coffee, acquired a
reputation as a therapeutic drink that promoted health. Indeed, in European and
Arab countries as well as in Persia and Russia, tea was praised for its
restorative and health giving properties. One Dutch physician, Cornelius
Blankaart, advised that to maintain health a minimum of eight to ten cups a
day should be drunk, and that up to 50 to 100 daily cups could be consumed
with safety.
D. While European coffee houses were frequented by men discussing politics and
closing business deals, respectable middle-class women stayed at home and
held tea parties. When the price of tea fell in the nineteenth century poor people
took up the drink with enthusiasm. Different grades and blends of tea were sold
to suit every pocket.
E. Throughout the world today, few religious groups object to tea drinking. In
Islamic cultures, where drinking of alcohol is forbidden, tea and coffee
consumption is an important part of social life. However, Seventh-Day
Adventists, recognising the beverage as a drug containing the stimulant
caffeine, frown upon the drinking of tea.
