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Tea Culture (1)
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Lovely Rita, Meter Maid
May I inquire discreetly?
When are you free to take some tea
With me?
The Beatles
OF historical note, tea is nearly 5,000 years old and was discovered, as legend has it, in 2737 BC by a Chinese emperor when some tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water. In the 1600s tea became popular throughout Europe and the American colonies. In 1904, iced tea was created at the World's Fair in St Louis, and in 1908, Thomas Sullivan of New York developed the concept of tea in a bag.
Tea breaks down into three basic types: black, green and oolong. In the US, over 90 per cent of the tea consumed is black tea, which has been fully oxidized or fermented and yields a hearty-flavoured, amber brew. Some of the popular black teas include English Breakfast (good breakfast choice since its hearty flavour mixes well with milk), Darjeeling (a blend of Himalayan teas with a flowery bouquet suited for lunch) and Orange Pekoe (a blend of Ceylon teas that is the most widely used of the tea blends).
Green tea skips the oxidizing step. It has a more delicate taste and is light green/golden in colour. Green tea, a staple in the Orient, is gaining popularity in the US due in part to recent scientific studies linking green tea drinking with reduced cancer risk.
Oolong tea, popular in China, is partly oxidized and is a cross between black and green tea in colour and taste.
While flavoured teas evolve from these three basic teas, herbal teas contain no true tea leaves. Herbal and “medicinal" teas are created from the flowers, berries, peels, seeds, leaves and roots of many different plants.SD-Agencies
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