Ancient and modern poems, books, rituals and ceremonies, wax lyrical in word or action, about the mystical and healing properties of tea. However, there is also the whimsical side. The little known, Fun Facts about Tea that delight one’s fancy ~ such as a compress of strong, lukewarm tea will relieve sunburn (true) and you can clean nearly your whole house with tea leaves(1).
In no particular order, other Fun Facts about Tea include…
- Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world, after water.
- All tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. It is the processing that creates the different types and colours. For example: black tea is fermented, oolong is semifermented, and green and white teas are both unfermented.
- ‘Herbal teas’ are actually not teas, they are tisanes.
- There are tea tasters just like there are wine tasters; and they have the same depth of knowledge, skill, and educated keenness of taste and smell that wine tasters do.
- The traditional Indian recipe for spiced tea (also called Marsala Chai(2), or Chai tea) comes from ancient Ayurvedic(3) medical scriptures.
- You will make yourself a more flavoursome cup of tea if you pour hot water into the teapot first to warm it, before making your tea.
- Turkey, Ireland, Morocco, Poland, Russia and Saudi Arabia are amongst the top ten tea drinking nations (per capita) in the world.
- Da-Hong Pao is the most expensive tea in the world. It is a dark oolong, grown in China and it sells for more than $1,000,000US per kilogram (yes, that does say more than a million dollars per kilo), which is just over $35,000US per ounce.
- In ancient China, tea was pressed into a solid brick (part of which could be broken off) and used as currency.
- The tea plant if left unpruned, can grow into a tree over 16 metres in height (50 feet).
- The art of reading tea leaves is call tasseography(4).
- Loose leaf tea can remain fresh for up to two years if it is kept airtight in a cool, dark, dry place.
- You can make a delightful potpourri(5) with a base of dry tea leaves; just add your favourite herbs, dried flowers and essential oils.
- Teacups and teapots make enchanting vases.
- Brewed tea leaves can be sprinkled over garden beds to add nitrogen to the soil.
- And you can create an aged or antique look to paper or cloth, by soaking it in a strong brew of tea. The longer you soak, the greater the effect.
As you can see, there is more to tea than meets the eye ~ and taste buds. I will blog more Fun facts about tea down the track a little. In the meantime, enjoy your tea, have blissful days, and practice kindness whenever you have the opportunity. ~ GreenWitch Tea
If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty. ~ Japanese Proverb
(1) Clean your house with tea
(2) How to make your own chai
(3) What is Ayurveda
(4) Tasseography
(5) How to make tea leaf potpourri
