What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear or see the word “tea?” Do you think of curling up with a good book and cup of chai? Being sick? Do you start speaking in a British accent? The Tea Party, as in the political party? “Mother’s Milk Tea” that you got so sick of when you were trying to up your milk supply? Do you remember make believe tea parties with your friends or you kids? Or those underwater tea parties in the pool? The possibilities with tea associations are endless.
Tea is as fascinating as it is delicious. Legend says that tea was accidentally discovered some 5,000 years ago in China when Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was boiling water and tea leaves from a tree above fell into the pot. He decided to give it a taste and felt great after drinking it! Tea was initially consumed for medicinal reasons and it wasn’t until the 1600s and 1700s that it became a social thing. You know, the high afternoon tea.
Tea played a large role in United States history. In 1773, American colonists hurled hundreds of chests of tea from British ships into Boston Harbor as an act of defiance toward the British Parliament. Tea was so popular that countries, including England, started taxing the hell out of it and the colonists refused to pay the tax on tea when they had no representation in government. This event, known as the “Boston Tea Party,” sparked the Revolutionary War! Whoa, tea.
After the American Revolution, it was considered unpatriotic to drink tea. Coffee became the hot drink of choice. But, don’t worry, tea has made quite a comeback. The “tea bag” and “iced tea” were both invented in the United States, which is the third largest importer of tea in the world, just behind Russia and Pakistan (according to statistics from the “International Tea Committee”). The U.S. tea industry is actually booming.
Tea has incredible health benefits, which they were on to thousands of years ago upon its discovery. It has a positive effect on body composition and helps with weight management. It’s got these things called flavonoids that act like antioxidants and neutralize free-radicals, thus fending off chronic disease. It reduces heart attack risk, LDL cholesterol, and rectal, colon, and skin cancer risk. Tea also helps prevent neurological decline and osteoporosis that comes with age. Cheers!
Despite all the greatness and rich history, I see a tea problem in this country. It’s not that people aren’t consuming tea…it’s that “ready-to-drink” tea is the most popular tea consumed in the U.S. Have we forgotten about the tea bag we invented? Tea bags go well with a teapot, a giant mug, a counter top and a stool. One of the things that first comes to my mind when I hear “tea” is memories of my mom and her friends sitting around the table having afternoon tea while the kids, myself included, played after school. Eventually, I started sitting down and having tea after school with her. Well, maybe it was hot chocolate for a couple years before I moved on to Earl Grey with a splash of milk, no sugar. But there were no phones, iPads…just tea, crumpets, and good conversation with eye contact.
Americans do everything on-the-go now, hence the obsession with ready-made tea. Go to Europe and try to find a travel mug. Impossible. I’ve tried. Ask someone in Europe where you can find a travel mug? They can’t understand why you wouldn’t enjoy a few moments sitting down with your coffee before you hit the road. They have kids and jobs, too! Although I am grateful for the drive-thru and to-go mugs at times, can we go back to the days of sitting and enjoying a steaming mug of tea? Instead of coffee in the morning and wine at night, maybe we just try tea for a while.
So, go buy some tea for yourself or make a tea care package for someone. It (supposedly) costs only 3 cents a serving and it’s not taxed anymore! There are millions of varieties and it comes from a renewable resource so we will never run out. Lately I’ve been loving Celestial Seasonings’ Lemon Ginger, Yogi’s Honey Lavender, and Stash’s Pumpkin Spice and Holiday Chai. Oh and here’s a little tip--if you’re using a teapot to boil water, make sure you start with fresh new water every time you boil. The tea needs as much oxygen as it can get from that water in order to be most delicious and beneficial to you.
**Most of the tea facts in this post were found through the Tea Association of the U.S.A., Inc. (teausa.com)**
