Tea Culture in South China
Picking tea leaves by xrodgers This summer, China celebrated the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return from Britain. National Geographic honored the event with a series called “Tea Culture in South China.” If you missed it, as I unfortunately did, you’re in luck! It can be found in five episodes (just under 10 minutes each) on YouTube. Click here to view these great videos! (I would embed the video, but I can’t get it to work in this version of WordPress. So sorry!)
Posted by Rachel at Monday ~ September 17, 2007 | 2 Comments
Category: Tea Videos, Tea Stories, History of Tea, Tea
Decaf your Own Tea
For some tea lovers having a cup is a two sided sword. One side filled with the elegant flavors and relaxing aromas and the other with caffeinated jitters. Personally I drink me tea in the morning to get a kick from the caffeine, but lots of people out there are sensitive to this stimulant. For those of you who want all the flavor without the jitters try this simple method to turn your caffeinated tea in to decaf. 1. Select tea you wish to drink, and steep it for 30 seconds in boiling water. 2. Take the wet leaves and steep in fresh boiled water. 3. Enjoy your newly decaf drink. This method will take away around 80% of the caffeine in your drink, which is also an excellent way to make tea at night if you get a craving and want to get to sleep at a reasonable hour.
Posted by CB at Thursday ~ March 15, 2007 | 4 Comments
Category: White Tea, Recipes, Tea Processing, Tea Facts, History of Tea, Green Tea, Tea, Health Benefits, Uncategorized
8 Great Tea Quotes
You aren’t the only one who has spoken about their love of tea. Here are some classic quotes about tea for your reading enjoyment! “Bring me a cup of tea and ‘Times’” - Queen Victoria’s first command upon the throne “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me” - C.S. Lewis “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” - Thich Nat Hahn “If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.” - Japanese Proverb “The spirit of the tea beverage is one of peace, comfort, and refinement.” - Arthur Gray “Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order” - Okakura Kakuzo “Tea is liquid wisdom.” - Anonymous And finally……….. “”I hope next time when we meet, we won’t be fighting each other. Instead we will be drinking tea together.” The final quote was said by the immortal Jackie Chan in the cinematic masterpiece, Rumble in the Bronx.
Posted by CB at Thursday ~ March 15, 2007 | No Comments
Category: Tea Stories, Tea Facts, History of Tea, Tea News, Uncategorized
Read Tea Leaves
Tea has so many great attributes, everything from increasing mental ability to fighting off harmful bacteria. It doesn’t surprise me that tea has also been associated with mysticism. Looking in to the future by interpreting how tea leaves fall at the bottom of a steeped cup has been practiced by cultures in Asia, the Middle East and even ancient Greece. Each culture independently began engaging in tea leaf reading, which is known as tasseography. Well now you can give it a shot as well: 1. You make a cup of tea with loose tea leaves 2. Drink the tea, while making sure not to ingest the leaves. 3. Then comes the tricky part, letting your imagination spot symbolism in the way the tea leaves lie. Some symbols and their meanings aresnake (enmity or falsehood), spade (good fortune through industry), mountain (journey of hindrance), or house (change, success). A whole list of symbols and their meanings is available here. Vola, now hopefully you will be able to read the future! If you got the knack at reading the symbolism tell me what the heck is going on in the show LOST.
Posted by CB at Wednesday ~ March 14, 2007 | 1 Comment
Category: White Tea, Tea Facts, History of Tea, Green Tea, Uncategorized
A Day in the Life of a Sri Lankan Tea Worker
Have you ever wondered how the people who cultivated the tea that made your chai latte lived? Well here is one example for you. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/dec2005/sril-d09.shtml This little story about Sri Lankan tea workers gives you a bit of background on that tea you are drinking and created a whole new level of respect for these people from me. A short read, but a nice little story.
Posted by CB at Friday ~ March 02, 2007 | No Comments
Category: Tea Stories, Tea Facts, History of Tea
23 Reasons to Drink Tea
Posted by CB at Friday ~ March 02, 2007 | 5 Comments
Category: Tea Facts, White Tea, History of Tea, Health Benefits, Green Tea, Tea, Uncategorized
Creation Myths of Tea
According to a Chinese legend which spread along with Buddhism, the Indian Bodhidharma is credited with the discovery of tea. Bodhidharma, a semi-legendary Buddhist monk, founder of the Chan school of Buddhism, journeyed to China. He became angered because he was falling asleep during meditation, so he cut off his eyelids. Tea bushes sprung from the spot where his eyelids hit the ground. Sometimes, the second story is retold with Gautama Buddha in place of Bodhidharma In another variant of the first mentioned myth, Gautama Buddha discovered tea when some leaves had fallen into boiling water. 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 symbol of status. It is not surprising its discovery is ascribed to religious or royal origins.
In one popular Chinese legend, Shennong, the legendary Emperor of China, inventor of agriculture and Chinese medicine, was on a journey about five thousand years ago. The Emperor, known for his wisdom in the ways of science, believed that the safest way to drink water was by first boiling it. One day he noticed some leaves had fallen into his boiling water. The ever inquisitive and curious monarch took a sip of the brew and was pleasantly surprised by its flavour and its restorative properties. 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. Shennong is also mentioned in Lu Yu’s Cha Jing, famous early work on the subject.
Posted by CB at Wednesday ~ February 28, 2007 | No Comments
Category: Tea Stories, Tea Facts, History of Tea, Tea, Uncategorized