Time for Tea
I come from a family of tea drinkers, in fact I’d probably call myself a tea addict, writes Tracy Hargreaves
Tea is drunk all over the world, but as a nation we are in the top three countries that love a good cuppa. Apparently, tea solves everything. The amount of times I’ve heard ‘I’ll put the kettle on’ when someone is upset, angry, people want to chat, if you’re poorly or brewing up for the office to get us through the day. It’s just something we do. After all, what’s more comforting than a good brew and a biscuit.
In Britain we have been drinking tea for more than 350 years and whilst it’s seen as a quintessentially British drink, it actually dates back much further than that. According to legend, in 2737 BC the Chinese emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water, when some leaves from the tree blew into the water.
Shen Nung, a renowned herbalist, decided to try the infusion that his servant had accidentally created, and the resulting drink was what we now call tea.Who knows whether that story is true, but drinking tea was certainly was around
in China, much earlier than in the west. However it was actually a Portuguese woman named Catherine of Braganza who popularized the beverage in England.In 1662, Catherine, who was the daughter of Portugal’s King John IV, married Britain’s King Charles II. She was chosen for her father’s connections which included key ports in Tangiers and Bombay and her wealth. Her dowry included several trunks of luxury items popular with the Portuguese aristocracy, including several crates of loose leaf tea.
Portugal, unlike Britain, had a direct trade route to China via Macau through which they were able to easily import the product. Tea wasn’t particularly fashionable around this time and it was also quite expensive.
However, when Catherine arrived in the UK, she continued drinking tea every day. The royal court quickly adopted the pastime and it soon became a drink of the aristocracy, served in porcelain cups.
Today, there’s a full range of tea available for everyone and every taste and the way we make it is personal to everyone. While it is usually served with milk, it is not uncommon to drink it black or with lemon, with sugar being a popular addition to any of the above. And how long we brew our tea is another conversation. To get the most antioxidants out of it, tea should be brewed for anywhere between four and seven minutes! Did you know us Brits drink around 165 million cups a day, with 16-24 year olds being the fastest growing drinkers of herbal tea? And as the afternoon tea craze continues to sweep the nation, tea has been kept at the top of the list of popular drinks.
Darjeeling, Earl Grey and English Breakfast Tea are the most common, but Green Tea is on the increase, due to its many health claims. It’s not for everyone. If you are hoping to use green tea for medicinal purposes, make sure to consult your doctor first.
All types of tea actually come from the same plant, the Camellia sinesis. The plant is subtropical and evergreen and native to Asia, although it is now grown around the world. It’s best grown loose in deep soil, sub-tropical climates.
The three primary components of brewed tea are, the essential oils, these provide the tea’s flavours and aromas.
Polyphenols, this is the briskness or astringency in the mouth that also carry most of the health benefits of tea and caffeine, which provides tea’s natural energy boost.
One local company that was founded on tea is Booths. Founder Edwin Henry Booth started as a tea dealer and travelled the world in search of the best teas to bring back. It tastes, blends and packs 13 types of leaf tea. Some, come from a single tea garden, while blends like its own label Darjeeling, are made to specifications handed down through the family. The company takes its tea buying seriously and is a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership, which aims to support a socially just and environmentally sustainable tea industry.
National Tea Day is 21st April and is a great opportunity to learn more about tea and why not host your own tea party? Tea is a bit like Champagne, it’s good on its own and even better paired with delicious foods. It doesn’t always have to be paired with sweet foods, but it can be equally compelling complementing savoury dishes such as hummus and pitta bread. Give it a go!
Next time you make a brew, think about its origin and how long it’s been around and sip and enjoy.
