By Rosemary Parkinson, Freelance Writer
CHINESE MYTHOLOGY tells us that in 2737 BC Emperor Shen Nung, a scholar and herbalist, was sitting under a tree while his servant was boiling water when, lo and behold, a leaf fell into the water. The brew looked interesting enough for the Emperor to taste, enjoy and name tea.
There are many stories about tea, but certainly from time immemorial its properties as a healthy, refreshing drink were never questioned, until recently when it was disbarred from its high esteem. But, as if the Gods have intervened, tea has returned to its rightful place as an ancient and highly regarded 'picker-upper'.
Many believe that a good cup of ch'a is an English thing but the Chinese, during the Tang Dynasty, made tea their national drink and the word ch'a was used to describe it. The first mention of tea outside of China and Japan is said to be by the Arabs in 850 AD who then brought it to Europe via Venetia -- although the Portuguese and the Dutch claim the credit for its
introduction through their sea routes to China. It was not, however, until the first advertisement announcing the sale of "China Tcha, Tay or Tee" appeared in the newspaper Mercurius Politicus in 1658 that tea rapidly gained popularity. By 1700 there were some 500 coffeehouses in London alone serving tea. By the middle of the 18th century, tea had replaced ale and gin as the drink of the masses to become Britain's most popular beverage.
TEA HAS LAUNCHED AT LEAST ONE REVOLUTION
Camellia sinensis, an evergreen plant with smooth, shiny pointed leaves is
probably far better known to the world than coffee. It has been the subject of many travels, the reason for revolution (the Boston Tea Party), heavy taxes and laws,
ancestral ceremonies and, on a more simple basis, an early morning drink to start the day on good footing. Of course, there's also the traditional afternoon Tea. Few people know that all tea comes from one tea tree. It is the conditions under which it is grown and then reaped that makes the difference. There are three types of tea -- Black, Green or Oolong.
Black Tea is the most popular in the West and is produced by allowing the fresh tea leaves once picked and rolled to darken on contact with the air before firing or drying. This process is called "fermentation" or "oxidation" and produces a robust flavour and aroma.
Green Tea is far more popular in Asia. The steamed tealeaves are rolled and immediately fired; the leaves remain green and the tea a pale green with a flavour that contains grassy hints from the flavour of the fresh plant.
Oolong & Onchong Teas are semi-fermented, processed in the same as Black Teas but they are not allowed to oxidise producing a peachy flavour and aroma.
Herbal Teas are not teas but are called so because they are steeped in the same way as real tea. They are infusions or tisanes.
Afternoon tea
It was Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford, who was reputed to have originated the idea of afternoon tea in the early 1800s. This was conceived to ward off hunger between lunch and dinner. The Earl of Sandwich had earlier invented putting two pieces of bread together over a filling calling it a sandwich so what better way than to marry the two and the notion of High Tea was on its way. By 1732 an evening spent dancing or watching fireworks would be rounded off by serving tea. Tea gardens opened all over Britain with the tea dance becoming more than fashionable and since then tea is so much a part of English life one can often hear "Do come and have a cup of tea dearie, 'twill make you forget all your problems lovey" even to this day all over the British Isles.
So it goes with history that the English brought tea to the English-speaking Caribbean isles. Some islanders feel that teas must be sweetened to perdition with condensed milk, others with tons of brown sugar. Some like tisanes made of herbs, some with medicinal values given to us by our forefathers. With the pattern of time, herbal teas and other teas have made their way into the homes of people from all walks of life and there's nothing quite like a good cup of tea to wake you up in the mornings, to have with friends in the afternoon or to soothe the nerves after a hard day's work.
