Blog Roll
Here are a few URLs that might interest you if you'd like to learn more about tea.

http://www.chcp.org/tea.html
http://www.solarisbotanicals.com/perfect.php?id=10
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8577637/How-to-make-the-perfect-cup-of-tea-be-patient.html
http://www.wtea.com/about-tea_history.aspx

Hope you enjoy reading though them if you get a chance!

How to make a perfect cup of tea

How to make a perfect cup of tea
I researched quite a lot on this topic as different people have different opinions on tea brewing. Some say it's all about patience others the temperature of the water. I'll be perfectly honest with you and tell you that I am not completely sure myself. Maybe it's both maybe it's neither, so I decided that it was only fair seeing as no one is 100% sure what it is that makes a cup of tea, "cuppa" that I include a couple of recipes I found. 


The first one I found was on The Telegraph website : http://tgr.ph/mMSOrc

Instructions for perfect cup of tea for one

1. Add 200ml of freshly boiled water to your tea bag (in a mug).

2. Allow the tea bag to brew for 2 minutes.

3. Remove the tea bag.

4. Add 10ml of milk.

5. Wait 6 minutes before consumption for the cuppa to reach its optimum temperature of 60 degrees centigrade.

The second is a tutorial on how to make a perfect cup of tea. I found it on You Tube, so here it is;

Enjoy and hope it turns out nice!! :)

Tea cultures around the world

Tea cultures around the world

In lots of cultures around the world, tea has mostly been used in high class social events for example afternoon teas and tea parties. Tea is also a drink that is drank not only in high class events but also on a casual basis for example when people have a cup of tea in the morning to wake them up or at night after dinner. 

Tea is strong in most cultures in the Middle East. In the Arab culture food is at the centre of all gatherings and in Iranian and Pakistani culture it is generally the first thing that a guest is offered when they come to a house.


In Pakistan black and green teas are popular. Kahwah is a popular green tea which is often drank after ever meal in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in the Pashtun belt of Balochistan. In Pakistan in the Kashmir region a Kashmiri chaior noon chai is drank on special occasions, weddings and during the Winter it is sold in lots of kiosks. It is a pink, milky tea made from pistachios and cardamon. In Chitral and Gilgit-Balistan which are regions in the north of Pakistan, a salted, buttered Tibetan-style tea is drank.

http://bit.ly/wLNSBz

In Japan and China there are tea ceremonies in each of these there are traditional techniques and strict protocol involves for the brewing and serving of the tea. One example of this is the Gungfu tea ceremony which is a Chinese tea ceremony and uses Yixing clay teapots and oolong tea.

http://bit.ly/fvyTde

Tea in India is one of the most popular hot drinks. It's drank everyday in almost every home and is offered to guests. It is drunk in large amounts in houses with lots of milk with or without spices. Biscuits are also served with it which are dipped in the tea and eaten before the tea is even drunk. Tea is most often drunk in small cups frequently rather than one large cup.

 Fact: Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world coming second to water. 

Tea Types

Tea Types
Tea is categorised by the way it's produced and processed.   

• White Tea (Younger leaves and delicate buds) : Wilted and unoxidised.
• Yellow Tea (Made like Green tea but longer drying processing) : Unwilted and unoxidised, but allowed to yellow.
• Green Tea: Unwilted and unoxidised (or very little oxidisation).
• Oolong: Wilted, bruised, and partly oxidised.
• Black Tea: Wilted, (crushed sometimes) and fully oxidised
• Post-fermented Tea: Green tea that has been allowed to ferment/compose more than Green Tea.



http://teahacker.com/category/tea/white-tea/

    Fact: The smaller the tea leaf the more expensive it is.

http://www.greenteaextractbenefits.com/



Teas' origins and why it started there.

Teas' Origins
No one is actually sure when tea was first drunk but they think that it has been around for over 5,000 years. The first recorded drinking of tea was in China. According to a Chinese legend tea was accidentally invented by Chinese Emperor Shen Nong in 2737 B.C. who back then was a scholar, herbalist and a scientist. He believed that drinking boiled water would keep you healthy so he made all his subjects and servants boil all their water before they drank it for hygiene reasons. One summer day he was he was visiting a distant part of his country when he decided he wanted to stop and have a rest. His servants started boiling the water for the emperor and themselves when dried leaves from a camellia bush fell into the boiling water. The emperor liked this new drink because it had a very nice smell so he drank it and found it tasted really nice and was refreshing. He then said that it gave great strength to the body. This is the legend of how tea was invented but back then it was only a medicinal drink. It began to be drunk as a casual daily drink circa 300AD. Tea has had lots more history in China through the many different dynasties and was finally brought to Europe in 1600s and was brought into England in 1669.

To show you the importance of tea to the people of China and to their culture I have an example from this

website that I found; http://www.chcp.org/tea.html. On this website it says that there is a Chinese saying that names tea as one of the seven basic daily necessities the other six are fuel, rice, oil, salt, soya sauce and vinegar.

                                                                      

Emperor Shen Nong depiction

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/understand.htm

Introduction

The subject of my blog is The Geography of Tea. I chose this subject as I like tea and I've always wanted to know how tea is made. The topics I am going to cover in my blog are..

• Where tea originated and why it started there.
• The different types of tea.
• Tea cultures in different countries around the world.
• How to make a perfect cup of tea.