TEA
CUSTOMS
Each country
has its own peculiarities of making and serving tea with its own
peculiar meanings. The love of Tea universal but however the art of
serving is unique to its own cultures and countries. Such is the zest
and fervor for tea - its become a "Way" of its own - "The Way of Tea".
Why should a
humble and self effacing drink like tea should evoke so much emotion
and fervor in people is something one has to ponder. Its inevitable
that the question will arise - Why?
Is it
-its Warmth,
- its unique taste,
- its ability to cheer,
-its ability to bring people
together.
I suppose its all of the above
qualities act together
to create an unique custom,
a 'way of life' -
"The way of Tea"
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Chai the 'Spice' Tea
'Chai' - a 100% pure
adulterated tea !
That's the
Indian
Way
of Tea !
Commonly used spices in Chai
Chai
means 'Spice' tea
All sort of spices are
mixed with black tea and milk -
'Cardomum' tea is the most
popular,
Also Ginger tea, Vanilla tea,
are also just around the
corner.
*****
tea in the form of black tea
with milk and sugar
is also popular as in the
west.
Earth
might shake,
Heavens may pour,
Floods
may engulf -
But
that wont stop me from
Having
my
tea
Good
ol' TEA !
Tea in
Leisure -
Feet up
Cuppa
in hand
Filled
to the brim with
Good ol'
tea
Or
Should
I say -
'Chai'
Isn't that a
wonderful life
Tea Ceremony
Cha-no-yu
(the tea ceremony) or Sadô (lit. the way of tea) was introduced
to Japan
from China
and
perfected by Master
Sen-no-Rikyu based on the spirit of Zen in the 16th
century.
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Tea Ritual
For Japanese people,
cha-no-yu is a mental discipline for pursuing
"wabi"
(a state of mind in which a person is calm and content, with a
profound simplicity)
and is at the same time a
performance in which
form and grace are paramount.
Tea Room
A ceremonial tea-room is
usually about three meters square (a four-and-a-half tatami-mat room)
and is decorated very
simply.
The spirit of "wabi" is exemplified by this tea-room.
There are many schools of tea
ceremony, including
the three Senke schools
of Ura, Omote, and Mushanokoji.
They all uphold the spirit of
the ceremony while observing
their own distinctive styles
of preparing and
serving tea.
Panyar-o Green Tea
The Venerable Hyodang’s unique
Panyaro green tea is available solely from the
Panyaro Institute,
from Master
Chae Won-Hwa who inherited it from him.
The name Panyaro was created by the Venerable Hyodang by combining the
two Chinese characters for Prajna (the wisdom leading to enlightenment
in Buddhism) and
that for dew,
yielding a name signifying
‘The Dew of
Enlightening Wisdom.’
Panyaro tea is marked by uniquely
high qualities of taste.
It is produced by the precise and demanding method known in
Korean as ‘jeungcha,’
following the process developed by the
Venerable Hyodang during his lifetime.
 
Having directly received the formal
transmission of that method from the
Venerable Hyodang, Master Chae Won-Hwa has been involved in
preparing
Panyaro tea each year for the past thirty years.
Every year she goes in mid-April to the tea
plantations on one of the outlying
slopes of Chiri Mountain in southern Korea and until later May
labors daily over a great iron cauldron heated by a wood fire,
drying freshly plucked young shoots of tea and
producing by hand, with the utmost care,
the year’s supply of Panyaro tea.
As a result of the particular method used,
Panyaro tea has unique qualities of color, fragrance and taste.
It is brewed with the purest water, that must be
far below boiling point
when it is poured on to the leaves.
When offered a cup of Panyaro tea,
the first step is to view the
color of the tea,
the second to inhale
its fragrance,
the third to taste it on the
tongue,
the fourth to follow its
taste in the throat, and
finally there is the
lingering aftertaste in the
mouth to be enjoyed.
Panyaro tea is reckoned to contain
six tastes:
salt, sweet, sour, bitter, tart, peppery, in varying proportions.
Moroccan Way of Tea
 
Mint Tea
Mint tea seems to be the most
suitable tea for the hot and dry climate in Morocco, and is the daily
tea for everyone.
To make mint tea, they
brew green tea and mint leaves together, and then pour into the glass,
not cups. If needed fresh mint can be added in the glass as well..
Moroccans like lots of sugar into their favorite mint tea.
Serving tea,
Moroccan style
To serve mint tea, tea is
poured from a distance (lift one hand up to the high position and
pour) to make foam on the top of the tea.
More foam expresses welcome to the guest.
Japanese Way of Tea
Japanese
have gone to the extreme of rituals to enjoy their way tea.
Iits unique, strange,
confusing and rather amusing
nevertheless interesting !
Vietnam
Tea for the Dead
Vietnamese conduct elaborate
funerals for the dead.
Many different rituals
are practised during the
funeral and morneing period.
One of the rituals involves
offering
food and tea
for the dead person's soul.
The family will gather before
the special altar
which has been erected for the
dead person,
and make offerings of food for
the dead person’s soul.
This is usually in three bowls of
rice,
three cups of tea,
and a few other special
dishes.
Milk in Tea
"The
British custom of drinking tea with milk has its roots not in taste
but economics.
The long journey from
the Orient made tea prohibitively expensive.
Milk, on the other hand, was
cheap and became the condiment of choice among the lower classes.
The amount of milk added
became a telltale of one's social standing.
The wealthy took their tea
undiluted.
The middle class poured the
expensive tea and then diluted it with milk.
The lower class filled the cup
with cheap milk and then
added a splash of the costly
tea"
Tea as Money
Yep,
they used Tea as money once up on a time in China and Russia !
That's before copper
and silver were used for coins.
Brick
tea was convenient to use it as it could be stored for many many
years, believe it or not for eternity.
In 1860 archeologist
found tea bricks which were 1000 years or more old and
yet still usable !
According to an explorer 1860s -"this tea, despite its age, is in
great demand among local people, particularly as supplies from china
have dried up". Interesting that the tea made in Tang era was sold
and consumed one thousand years latter !!!
Heard about matured
wines and whiskey, at the most 30 years of maturation in the oak
barrels.
But one thousand years old !!!
And believe it or not - they
were in high demand !!!
These
brick teas were sent to Russia where tea was very popular.
Tea bricks demanded
high value like gold and silver and retained its value for long time.
So tea could be used as
reliable money.
Large Tea Bricks with scores to break small pieces
Small brick "coins" in packets for convenience
Tea
bricks were even made with scores on them to break it easily into
small pieces.
Those small pieces were
used as coins and the big bricks as larger denominations like bills.
They all carried certain
values in different regions
claiming the maximum value in
Russia where it was in demand
and the minimum in China
where they were produced in
large numbers.
High Tea
The Afternoon tea
The
tradition of High Tea goes back many years to the late 1700's.
In
England
at that time there were two main meals daily, Breakfast and Dinner.
Dinner was served very
late in the evening, so it was a very long time between meals.
The Duchess of
Bedford(1788-1861) started having "High Tea" to quell that "sinking
feeling" in the late afternoon.
Afternoon tea was her
invention to keep her going until dinner.
She would invite friends to
join her for tea at 5p.m.
Other hostesses quickly copied
her idea.
Food at tea included such
things as thin sandwiches, shrimp or fish pate,
toasted breads with jams and
regional pastries such as scones and crumpets.
The emphasis was on
presentation and conversation.
Today different versions of
High Tea
can be found worldwide
especially in
commonwealth countries.
Aged Tea
These
teas are specially made to be stored for great many years, just like
the vintage wines.
These teas gather
flavor and aroma over a period of time -
at least 5 years of
maturation.
Bricks
 
Aged teas from Yiban &
Manzuhang region, China
But the best tastes are known
to be created after 20 - 30 years of maturation !
These are specially sort after
teas by the
tea connosiers with discerning
taste buds.
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