The World's Cup of Tea

When I was still in high school, every morning began the same. I got up and ready for school, then on the way out the door I usually grabbed a granola bar but never left without my cup of tea. I suppose it became a part of who I was. Everyone knew that if they saw me before eight o’clock, I would have my cup of tea in my hand. Things have changed now that I’m in college because I’m often rushing off to my first class of the morning finishing homework or eating a bagel as I walk. I rarely have time to make tea in the morning, so it has shifted to the afternoon especially while I work on homework. I find it fascinating how such a simple beverage can have such a strong impact on cultures socially and economically.

The social aspect of tea has been around for centuries. Obviously the Chinese have strong ties to it since the plants are indigenous to the region; however tea began to play a strong role in the Arab culture as well. To this day it is hard to walk into a shop and not have the owner offer to make his customers tea. Before any business is conducted, men usually converse about other aspects of life over a cup of tea, and consider the business part secondary. Corky White discusses the role tea played in the refinement of women in England in the mid-seventeenth century.  Though men were more drawn to coffee in 1640 England, tea became the center of the dames during their weekly meetings (White).

Today tea is the second most popular drink in the world, yet the topic of tea production is a bit ambiguous (Graber). The reason for this is due to the fact that tea itself can be defined in a variety of ways. Some consider tea to be produced strictly from the tea plant, while others include any type of plant matter that is able to infuse water and yield an aromatic beverage (“Tea”). For our purposes we will focus on the plant itself which is indigenous to China, northern India and Tibet (“Where Tea is Grown”).

For tea cultivation to be successful, three components must be considered: the environment in which the plant will be found, the acidity of the soil and finally the amount of labor available. The ideal environment will expose the plants to roughly forty-five to fifty inches of rainfall annually in addition to any cool seasons being within the tea plants’ tolerance levels. The soil must be acidic in order to produce strong plants, usually around a pH level of 5.6 or less. Finally, workers must be available. Though mechanical harvesting has been tested, the subjectivity of a worker is required to obtain the best product; therefore, the workers become a necessary constituent of production (Harler).

Currently India leads the world in tea production. This is a country where the tea plant is also a native species. Though mass production did not start in India until about the nineteenth century, they have led the world for about 150 years (“Where Tea is Grown”). India specifically, is known for its tea quality. Some of the most revered tea, known as Darjeeling, is a fruity tea grown in a mountainous region around the town of Darjeeling, India (“Darjeeling Tea”).

After the plants are harvested and processed, other ingredients are often added to intensify or simply alter the flavor patterns. In a study conducted by a group of high school students in New York City based on the DNA analysis of 130 different tea varieties, they found that about four percent of the “pure” teas were actually mixed with additional plant matter that was unlisted. The teas that were tested came from thirty-three different companies from seventeen nations (Graber). There are some concerns about the unlisted additives found in teas today, however, the tea industry has widened significantly and is no longer restricted to just the tea plant.

I have always known that the tea industry stretches across centuries and around the globe, however I enjoyed taking the time to learn more. Because of the strong social significance in many cultures, I enjoy bringing back different types of tea from the places I travel to. In this way, I am still able to experience that place even while I am thousands of miles away. As I said before, tea is simple, yet this one beverage is able to tie together so many aspects of life.