A Brief History of Tea
Today we are going to dive into the complex yet wonderful world of tea.
In the strictest sense of the word, tea comes from the plant Camellia sinesis, first ‘discovered’ by China’s second emperor Shen Nung in 2737 B.C. Tea is now a beverage that is enjoyed in some form or another all over the world.
This small piece of writing is merely an introduction, if that, into a very dense and fascinating subject that we will no doubt come back to again at a later date.
Tea is such a wonderful amalgamation of history and culture. I could spend the rest of my life writing about it and still miss something important.
From the Japanese tea ceremonies that influenced Zen Buddhism, its various uses in Ayurvedic medicine, western herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine to institutions such as high tea, or even just a relaxing cup of tea with a biscuit.
The reach and significance of tea as a world wide phenomenon can not be understated.
In this day and age tea can be made from roots such as ginger, marshmallow root, liquorice root and turmeric, just to name a few.
These teas can be used to aid digestion.
Various barks of some trees such as sassafras, cinnamon and willow bark are said to cure pain, stimulate blood flow and help with the symptoms of cold and flu.
Depending on your perspective, there seems to be tea for almost anything.
Various seeds, herbs and berries of plants can be simmered in water to create different flavours.
Tea is much more than just the leaves of one particular type of plant.
In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Tea’s made from the bark of certain species of trees, mushrooms and herbs are made to counteract excessive heat and dampness in the body.
Damiana tea is said to help reduce anxiety and depression in some people, while valerian root and California poppy can help with sleep issues.
In Tibet, Tea is mixed with butter and may be a food source for some. In Myanmar tea leaves are made into a relish and eaten, In Malaysia and Singapore there is a dish called ‘Bak Kut Teh’. The name comes from the Hokkien or Fujianese dialect and literally translates to ‘pork rib tea’. This dish contains spices such as star anise, white peppercorns, garlic and cinnamon, it is said to be a tea that warms the body.
This is an interesting example of a herbal tea being used along with animal proteins to create a meal. After world war two in England, school children were fed a ‘beef tea’ with a slice of bread and beef dripping. Bovril is used to make this tea, which is a thick spread similar to marmite or Vegemite.
While we are on the subject of the British, to whom tea is a vital part of their culture. The first opium wars that raged from 1839-1842 were at their core a trade war that started with tea. China at that time had a very self sustaining economy and were not particularly interested in trading with the British, although by the name you can gather that this war was about opium, it also involved other traded goods such as porcelain, silk and of course, tea. This war and China’s subsequent loss, resulted in them ceding Hong Kong to the British empire, a loss for China that lasted for 156 years!
Tea became so popular in Europe that the British were trading silver for it. The desire for silver was not as strong in China as the need for tea was in Europe. The British were consuming so much tea, at one point the country suffered a silver shortage.
At this stage, even after a three year war and control of Hong Kong, tea growing and manufacturing secrets were still fairly unknown in the west.
In 1846 a Scottish botanist named Robert Fortune, employed by the British East India Company, was sent to Hong Kong to discover the secrets of the Chinese tea industry.
Robert Fortune travelled from Hong Kong into southern China, specifically the Wu Si Shan hills, posing as a Chinese official from a remote province, at the time of Fortune’s visit to the established tea factory, tea production hadn’t changed in two thousand years.
Although a simple concept at heart, simply adding dried leaves to hot water and steeping for a period of time, getting tea to this point is far from simple. Tea is a very highly processed product. After the drying process, tea is fired, Black tea is fermented.
Tea is a product that takes great skill and knowledge to produce at a high standard.
Not only does it need to be grown in a very particular way, it also needs to be picked, processed and packed in an equally important procedure. Different teas need to be picked at different stages of their growth.
As Lu Yu states in his work Cha Ching:
‘The best quality tea must have
The creases like the leather boots of
Tartar horsemen,
Curl like dewlap of a mighty bullock,
Unfold like a mist rising out of a ravine,
Gleam like a lake touched by a zephyr,
And be wet and soft like
Earth newly swept by rain.
Green tea is left to dry in the sun, for no more that 2 hours, these leaves are then ‘toasted’ in a hot pan, stirred frequently in order to keep the leaves crisp and never allowing them to burn. This process allows the sap to come to the surface of the dried leaves and break down their cell walls; the tea becomes soft and wet in a similar way that releases their natural water content and begins to soften when cooked.
The tea is then rolled, traditionally with bamboo rollers as Fortune documented about this process, ‘I cannot give a better idea of this operation than comparing it to a baker working and rolling his dough.’
The tea loses quite considerable amounts of volume by this stage, and an entire basket of tea leaves will have broken down to a mere handful. Making tea production a very timely pursuit. After it is rolled the tea is dried in pans again, losing even more of its volume.
At this stage the tea can now be sorted into the highest quality leaves to the lowest quality.
The topmost leaves and tips are considered to be the highest quality product, mainly consisting of the bud and first two leaves. This part of the plant has a mild and delicate flavour, they are far less bitter.
Tea can be broken down into three main categories:
Green tea (unfermented) leaves are dried directly after being picked to prevent oxidation. It also inactivates the enzymes. The Japanese have made it an art form, the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. This involves the ceremonial preparation and presentation of a powdered form of green tea known as Matcha. This art form is known as Temae. The tea ceremony itself is about respect and finding harmony, purity and tranquillity.
Oolong (semi fermented), the fermentation process is stopped before it reaches completion. Oxidation can range between 8-85%. The masters of oolong tea production are in Taiwan, the flavour profile can range from smoky to woody, sweet and fruity or floral. In Taiwan alone there are over ten varieties of oolong produced.
Black tea (fermented), This tea is dried or as it’s often called ‘Wilted’ so they soften, they are then rolled, the tea leaves are rolled in a fashion so that the whole leaf stays intact, this process allows the organic compounds which are naturally occurring in the tea to be released. This rolling and the final shape of the leaves will affect the flavour of the tea once it is brewed. The dried and rolled leaves are then fermented for 8-12 hours in a cool humid environment. This exposure to oxygen allows the tea to undergo changes in colour and flavour. The tea is then gently dried again.
Tea production is not by any means limited to Asia, India is one of the largest tea producers in the world. Although 70% of the tea grown and manufactured in India is consumed in the country itself, Indian tea is also exported worldwide.
The Indian tea industry has many global tea brands and is known for its high tech tea production facilities. A number of very well respected tea varieties are grown and prepared in India. Varieties such as Assam, a full-bodied black tea and Darjeeling, a black tea known as the ‘champagne of teas’ grown on the foothills of the Himalayas. It has a fine and delicate flavour and is used as the base for marsala chai.
Tea is a vital part of Indian culture, first mentioned in the ancient scripts of the Ramayana, Laksman the brother of lord Rama was injured in a battle, the leaves of a plant known as ‘Sanjeevani Booti’ that grows only in the Himalayas were used to tend to the wound. These leaves allowed the wound to heal miraculously; Sanskrit scholars believe this plant to be tea.
Wherever you go in India, from Northern India’s milk tea, served in earthenware pots known as ‘Khullad’ to the spice laden teas of the south, ‘Malai-maarke’ a marsala chai with a dollop of cream in Delhi or ‘Cutting chai’ a half cup of tea in Mumbai, tea has become a part of the very fabric that makes Indian culture.
In South America, tea comes in various forms, Mate is a major part of Argentine culture, the sharing of Mate, is symbolic of friendship, it is an act of love for those participating in the ritual, regardless of if the participants are friends or strangers. Yerba Mate, also known as chimarro or cimarron is a drink made by soaking the leaves of the Yerba Mate Ilex paraguariensis plant in hot water. The same way you would brew tea.
Yerba Mate contains a much higher level of caffeine than green tea, and as such is considered an energy drink by some.
Traditionally served in a cup made from calabash gourd with a metal straw.
In some places the cup may be made from a cattle horn.
In Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador and especially Peru the leaves of the coca plant are used to make tea. Travellers to high altitude cities such as Cusco and the smaller villages that serve as entry points to some of the great indigenous ruins of long ago cities such as Machu Picchu are encouraged to chew the leaves or drink this tea made of coca leaves to counteract the effects of altitude sickness.
Many Indigenous peoples of the Andes believe that the coca plant, its tea in particular, holds many medicinal properties.
In Jamaica, the leaves of the cannabis plant have long been brewed into a tea that is said to strengthen the body, improve immune response and make a person less susceptible to health issues.
It is used as a defence against colds and fevers, as a stress reliever and quite commonly to counteract the effects of morning sickness in pregnant women.
We have barely scratched the surface of the wonders of tea in this post. In future posts we will dive deeper into some of the cultures listed above and see what other treasures we can find.
The world of TCM is a vast and fascinating subject unto itself, as is Ayurvedic medicine and even cooking with tea. To call this post an introduction wouldn't even do it justice, this is more a jumbled array of thoughts on a subject that I could happily talk about for a long time to come.
In my experiments with tea and food I recently made a series of teas with freeze dried fruits from Fresh as (https://www.fresh-as.com/).
Below is a simple tea made from freeze dried raspberries and liquorice root:
This simple tea with a beautiful red colour, fruity flavour and a nice aniseed finish can be made at any time.
We used whole freeze dried raspberries in the tea itself and finished it with a little freeze dried raspberry powder.
40g dried liquorice root
7 freeze dried raspberries
5 g freeze dried raspberries
400ml cold water
Honey or maple syrup to taste
In a small saucepan add cold water, whole freeze dried raspberries, dried licorice root and a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup.
Place the pot on the stove over low heat and gently bring to a boil.
Stir gently to mix the honey or maple syrup through the tea.
Reduce heat to low, so the tea gently simmers, leave for 5-7 minutes.
Remove tea from the heat and strain.
Pour into glasses and sprinkle with freeze dried raspberry powder
Enjoy …