Tea has had just as turbulent a history as coffee.
Tea has come from being a common commodity in China to a beverage consumed by millions of people all over the world. It is no longer just plain tea and has now been flavoured, smoked, rolled, shaped and iced. It is also used in different beverages, used for medicinal purposes, used in cooking, salts, bath products and as well as in alcoholic beverages. It has become a very versatile product globally. The world has woken up to the fact that there is more to tea than English breakfast.
Tea has been involved in so much adventure, including smuggling, fortunes lost and gained, drugs, war, major taxation hassles and revolutions. From the 17th Century, tea’s popularity snowballed, capturing the attention of the western world. Millions of people begin their day with a cup of coffee, but nowadays many more begin it with a cup of tea.
Producing tea is a balancing act between aroma and flavour and involves the pickers, the farmers, managers and processors. Every tea producing country can lay claim and be proud of producing a tea that is unique to that region. The different terroirs affect the tea plant and enable each region to produce a tea that occurs from specific biology within the leaf.
Tea is not a simple matter. It has so many different colours, flavours and aromas that once you start to experiment you will always be on the hunt for your next tea experience.
As the old Chinese saying goes: “The journey of a thousand cups begins with a single sip”.
