Tea Around The World

Teaology Tidbits

Tea is one of the world’s oldest and favorite beverages. Over the centuries, nations across all the continetnts have developed their own special ways of preparing and drinking tea, and it has become an integral part of all different cultures.

So many great things in our lives were discovered by accident and tea is one of them. The Chinese were the first nation to enjoy tea after a tea leaf fell into the Emperor’s cup of hot water over 5000 years ago. In China today, tea is drunk from a handle-less cup and is usually the first and last thing to be served at a meal.

Turkey is famous for its strong black coffee, but most Turks actually prefer tea. In fact, tea is such an important part of Turkish culture that before considering a match for their sons, mothers will make sure that prospective daughters-in-law know how to prepare the perfect cup of tea. Talk about a shidduch crisis.

Moroccans drink a sweet mint tea throughout the day, and mint tea plays an important role in hospitality in hotels, restaurants and at home. Walk into a Moroccan store and you’ll likely be offered a cup of mint tea to enojy as you browse. Mint tea is also drunk in Egypt and many Middle-Eastern countries. In fact, many Sephardim have the tradition of serving guests mint tea at simchas.

Tea is popularly associated with Britain, where the avergae person drinks around 3 cups a day. The famous ‘afternoon tea’ (think ‘tea and crumpets’) was introduced by the fashionable Duchess of bedford who took to inviting her friends for a refreshing snack between lunch and supper. ‘High tea’, on the other hand, was a hearty meal eaten by the working class in the evening when they returned from work.

Tea is rapidly being rediscovered in various countries as people seek a healthy, delicious alternative to bevergaes which are loaded with synthetic sweeteners and food coloring. In the US and Canada, the tea revolution is in full swing with millions of people making the switch from coffee to tea. Join the revolution!