A primer on tea culture, mainly using teas from my favorite tea companies: Whittard of Chelsea, Taylors of Harrogate, Peet's Coffee and Tea, Leaves Pure Teas, Twinings, and Tazo.
The country with the longest tradition of using tea both as a drink and as currency is China: the use of bricks of Pu-erh tea as a medium of monetary exchange by nomads beyond the Great Wall was recorded as early as A.D. 476.; and in the northern parts of mountain-encased Yunnan province (believed to be the location of mythical Shangri-La), as well as in eastern Zhejiang (south of the Yangtse River Delta), the home of Gunpowder green tea, tea culture has been known at least since the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 – 907), when tea was also first introduced to Japan.
In Darjeeling, on the other hand, now the origin of the world's finest teas, commercial production only began in the mid-19th century; and the same is true for Ceylon (Sri Lanka), where tea was introduced after a fungus had destroyed virtually all of the island's coffee plantations.
In Britain, tea was know at least since the 16th century; King Charles II (1660 – 1685) first made it popular as an all-day beverage. Contrary to popular belief, however, for a long time it was not traditionally consumed at a particular time of day. The person credited with invention of afternoon tea is Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford (1783 – 1857), one of Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting, who one afternoon had her servants bring her tea and little cakes to conquer the "sinking feeling" she tended to experience every day around this time – and enjoyed it so much that she not only repeated the exercise on a daily basis herself but also began to serve afternoon tea to friends and fellow courtiers, who soon took to the practice as well.
Loose leaf black teas are either whole leaf or broken grades; top quality within a grade is denoted by adding the number 1. In addition, there are "fannings" and "dust," the lower-grade remainders usually found in tea bags.
Themis-Athena's tea guides: Part 1 (The Basics), Part 2 (Individual Teas) and Part 3 (Scented & Herbal Teas)
Themis-Athena's presentation of select teas from India and Ceylon, China, Japan, Africa and South America, and blended and scented teas.
Themis-Athena's select annotated tea list and bibliography of tea books and accessories
Themis-Athena's guide to European cooking
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