Teachings of Tea

Tea is surely a super-drink, and if you are trying to improve your health or lose a few pounds, then don’t think much…just have a cup of tea. Tea contains certain substances linked to better health. The main players are chemicals called polyphenols, in particular catechins and epicatechins. It prevents various forms of cancer, heart diseases, cholesterol etc. The antioxidants in tea might help protect against a boatload of cancers, including breast, colon, colorectal, skin, lung, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, liver, ovarian, prostate and oral cancers. 

There is a very important thing which tea teaches us is that, “Drink a few cups of tea daily and stay healthy.”

Tea has been consumed for thousands of years now and the long history of tea clearly designates it as a health saver with proofs. Ancient Chinese use tea as medicine in various ailments and it is still being practiced in China. Black tea is used to reduce fat, protein and low-density “bad” cholesterol, reduce fatigue, stimulating the central nervous system and promoting dental health in China. Green tea is still used in China as a medicine. They are used as anti-bacterial and anti-virus, bacterial killing properties in the mouth and intestines and improving blood flow.

From the time of the ancient Chinese Dynasty to our present, tea has showed us its power and the fact that it has a lot to do with relaxing and sacred rituals. Tea has bound the people of the world together and there is no place on earth where you don’t get tea. Anywhere you go, you can make friends over a cup of tea.

Even your enemies could become friends over a cup of tea!

Tea in a sense is not a drink but is actually an emotion which promotes warm feeling amongst people and generation. It is such a powerful tool that from years it has managed to break barriers of countries and win the hearts of millions of people in there. This can be illustrated by the spread of tea from China across the world. In a very short period of time, this Chinese drink became famous and has deeply established its roots across the world. People across the world now cannot even think of waking up without a cup of tea.

If we dig deeply we can observe the importance of tea across the cultures and how tea has acted as teacher in various cultures.

 India: The land of Chai tea

Our country India has the highest consumption of tea across the world. Tea is almost the national drink of India, and is being served literally on every street corner. There is no place where tea is not being served especially in crowded train stations, where you can see people selling it at all times of the day and night. In India, tea teaches people to love each other and is a common drink over the concept of “Atithi Devo Bhava”. If you ever visit an Indian house, then you will feel warmed with the gesture and also love the taste of the superb milk-spiced tea.

Japan: The matcha ceremony

Tea culture in Japan is said to be very old and spread from China and for Japanese people, tea is an important part of the food culture. A highly diverse tea culture and the biggest tea ceremony are known as matcha. Matcha tea celebration is a quiet celebration performed with grace and beauty by a small group of people in Japan. This ritual promotes a bonding experience of mindfulness, respect and a focus on the now. There is a lot of to learn from this Japanese tea culture indeed.

Morocco: Mint tea, the heart of the culture

If you ever visit Morocco, then it is almost impossible to spend 24 hours in a Moroccan city and to not be served hot tea. The famous tea of this part of the world is known as “Touareg tea” or “Moroccan mint tea” and is said to be literally the heart of morrocan culture. The country’s tea culture shows an act of hospitality, love and tradition. The mint tea is served to guests three times with each glass meaning a different thing- Life, love and death. Of course, all of them have to be drunk. Is it awesome how tea binds people together!

New Zealand: The “tea-break”

The tea culture in New Zealand has been just recent unlike other parts of the world. There has been a study which says that New Zealand imported considerable amounts of tea in the nineteenth-century, with the arrival of the British missionaries. After that tea culture rocketed in the country and now the people experiment with other types of tea. Tea has a very important role to play in the life of people in New Zealand because they drink tea to promote health mainly. The interest for this drink comes from tea’s reputation and its health benefits.

USA: The tea explosion

Tea is one of the most popular drinks in the USA. People in here are fond of ice tea and there are various companies making readymade ice tea for the customers. You will find the US culture with mixed opinions of tea as many are fond of different types of tea. Here is possible to find green, red and even the oolong tea, the traditional Chinese tea. The charm which tea brings in USA in completely different and tea is often consumed with lunch and all types of tea are drunk in the evenings.

Thailand: A very trendy tea

Thai tea is especially consumed in Southeast Asia and in lots of American and European restaurants that serve Vietnamese and Thai food. This tea promotes the Thai culture across the world and preserves its integrity. This shows how a culture can be present in a completely different country and still leave its magic on the people.

Britain: Classic afternoon tea

British cannot live without a cup of tea and it is the only country where people can drink a cup of tea even before they go to bed. Despite the coffee fuelled culture, tea is still the first hot drink chosen by the British population. British workers by law, have the right to a minimum of a twenty-minute break in a shift of six hours; government guidelines describe this as ” a tea or lunch break”. More informally, this is known as elevenses i.e. a couple of hours before the midday meal, traditionally served at 1pm. “Tea” (sometimes “high tea”) can also mean the savoury, hot early evening meal and is common in working class British English and in Northern England.

Russia: Zavarka for guests

Russians are famous for two things – “vodka” and “tea.” Russians tea is known as Zavarka, a very strong tea prepared in a separate tea pot that allows hosts to serve the guests in several rounds. Russia has a great history of tea which still lives and breathes in Russia and around the world where Russian emigrants make their homes. Their tea culture illustrates hospitality, which involves gathering around the table by a samovar with family and friends. This is considered important in Russia because it shows that despite being busy people have time for their friends and family.

China: The dynasty of tea

Tea has originated in China and for Chinese people, tea is synonym of life. Tea was first discovered in China and has been discovered thousands of years ago. The art of making tea is called “Cha dao”, which was soon accepted as one of the most important cultures that Japan learned from China. Tea culture in China is very different from other parts of the world as it holds a special place in the hearts of people. There is no meal in china which is served without tea, and there is no restaurant where they don’t serve tea. Tea drives deep inside their culture and teaches harmony, love, affection and unity among the Chinese people.

Tea and Hospitality

Sharing tea is an essence of hospitality around the world. Whenever a guest is invited or a traveler arrives at your house unexpectedly, a cup of tea offered to them shows love and human essence. Tea sharing provides nourishment and care. In this process of hospitality with tea, we feel connected to other over the time shared over tea. We may also experience a deep empathy for life and through hospitality we can learn the “concept of giving” very nicely.

Tea and Art

Many of us must be wondering that how tea and art are related? The real fact is that tea has always been associated with arts from ages. There has been a selection of paintings, poems and calligraphy that have been inspired by tea. Thousands of poerty have been written on tea.

Here is one of the famous poems written by “Gary Sander” in 1930.

“There are those who love to get dirty and fix things. They drink coffee at dawn, beer after work. And those who stay clean just appreciate things, At breakfast have milk and juice at night. There are those who do both, they drink tea.”
There have been various paintings and artwork being done in name of tea. Various artists have managed to capture the quiet moments of tea in many paintings, books and in tea accessories. There has been unlimited form of art works done in the name of tea. Tea has taught humanity to learn the magic of real art and led to a new genre of art form.

Final Verdict

The art of preparing a cup of tea also has a lot to teach. Preparing a cup of tea properly requires patience, love, talent and some other words which are more soothing to hear! Yes, it is true because a person who can make a good tea would have a better taste for things in life as making a tea is both skill and emotion. With either of the two lost, there would always be something wrong with tea. In the same way, tea teaches us to stay patient and lovable throughout life.

Therefore, don’t wait up!

Have a cup of tea right away and spread the message of love across the world right away.