Teatime Tuesday: Traditions Around the World

Teatime Tuesday: 

Traditions Around the World

Tea began in China and slowly made its way around the globe. As each country has embraced the fragrant drink, cultures and traditions arose. Here are just a few:

China: Originally used as for medicinal purposes, tea was eventually enjoyed by the monks for its calming effects. There are several tea ceremonies in China, the most well-known being Gongfu Cha (“making tea with skills”). Oolong is the tea of choice for this ceremony during which guests are served over the course of twenty-five minutes, and at the end the tea is imbibed. Guests hold the cup in both hands and take three sips.

India: Over 70% of the tea produced in India is consumed by the country’s residents. Darjeeling and

Assam are popular, but Chai far outweighs consumption. The Chinese word for tea is cha, and chai is derived from that. Black tea is infused with a number of spices including cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and black pepper. Served to guests, the tea is brewed in two steps: first with the spices, then with milk and sugar.

Japan: The tea ceremony chanoyu (“hot water for tea”) uses Matcha, a powdered green tea, and as with
the other traditions, is used for guests. The ceremony is complex with many utensils and planned over several weeks. There is a specific vocabulary associated with the ceremony that can last up to four hours!

Russia: Traditional drunk in the afternoons, the Russian ceremony can last for hours. Brewing is done in a small ceramic pot called a samovar creating a concentrated liquid. In the early days, charcoal was used as the heat source. Each person pours a portion into their own cup and mixes it with hot water. The ceremony includes sweets and pastries.

Great Britain: It’s a well-known fact, the British people love their tea, and with it, their tea traditions. High tea originated with the wealthy and the peerage who normally only ate two meals each day: a late breakfast and a late dinner. Developed as a way to assuage hunger between the two meals, high tea takes place in the afternoon and includes three “courses:” finger sandwiches, jam and cream, and small cakes or other treats. The tea of choice is unflavored black tea with milk.

What your favorite way to enjoy tea?

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A Lesson in Love:
He thinks he’s too old. She thinks she’s too young. Can these teachers learn that love defies all boundaries?

Born and raised in London, Isobel Turvine knows nothing about farming, but after the students in her school evacuate during Operation Pied Piper, she’s left with little to do. Her friend talks her into joining the Women’s Land Army, and she finds herself working the land at a manor home in Yorkshire that’s been converted to a boys’ school. A teacher at heart, she is drawn to the lads, but the handsome yet stiff-necked headmaster wants her to stick to farming.

Left with an arm that barely works from the last “war to end all wars,” Gavin Emerson agrees to take on the job of headmaster when his school moves from London to Yorkshire, but he’s saddled with the quirky manor owner, bickering among his teachers, and a gaggle of Land Army girls who have turned the grounds into a farm. When the group’s blue-eyed, blonde leader nearly runs him down in a car, he admonishes her to stay in the fields, but they are thrown together at every turn. Can he trust her not to break his heart?

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Photo credits:

Tea crop: Pixabay/Mikhail Mamontov

Japanese Matcha Tea: Pixabay/Teechan

Samovar: Pixabay/Katya36