People have known tea since ancient times, all countries of the world love this healthy and pleasant drink, invent special recipes for its preparation and tea drinking ceremonies. In some countries, quite interesting and sometimes unusual long-term traditions of drinking this drink have developed.
Tea drinking in Japan and China
In these countries, the tea ceremony is primarily seen as an opportunity to have a good rest while engaging in contemplation. There, tea is not drunk in a hurry or during meals. In Japan, as in China, it is customary to brew it in small covered vessels. On average, this process takes no more than a couple of minutes, and then the resulting infusion is poured into cups. It is also noteworthy that the tea leaves remain in the teapot. The best drink is the one that is obtained after the 2nd brewing.
Residents of sunny China often drink unsweetened green tea with the addition of orange, jasmine, lotus or magnolia. It is very important to use spring water when preparing it. Such tea is drunk in very small sips.
Initially, tea was used only as a medicine. It began to be consumed as a drink during the reign of the Chinese Tang Dynasty.
Traditionally, tea drinking in Japan takes place in special pavilions and is an extremely complex ceremony called "ga-no-yu". Geisha are engaged in its preparation. The Japanese, like the people of China, drink tea without much haste, in very small sips.
English traditions
Like the inhabitants of distant Asia, the British have their own, special culture of drinking and making tea. There it is served in special teapots. And it is prepared like this: tea leaves are poured into a dry, well-heated vessel, which are subsequently poured with boiling water and kept for 7 minutes. Well, then the tea is poured into tiny cups with a small amount of sugar and milk.
Citizens of this country drink it three times a day: in the morning, during the traditional lunch, and, of course, at 5 pm, sometimes their famous "five o`clock". In the process of drinking tea, it is customary for them to slowly "sip" the drink with slightly parted lips.
Tea drinking in Arabic
Everyone knows that Arabs prefer to drink tea from small cups that expand slightly upward. At the same time, this drink is prepared exclusively by men; in most cases, this is done by the head of the family. A small amount of green tea is poured onto the very bottom of a metal teapot, pouring a small amount of boiling water over it so that all the bitterness comes out of the leaves. And only after that the water is drained. Then crushed mint leaves and a huge lump of sugar are added to the vessel, all this is again poured with water and the kettle is put on fire.
After boiling water, the kettle is set aside for 5-7 minutes. After the specified time has elapsed, the tea is poured several times from the jug into the porcelain container and vice versa. According to Arab tradition, the process of offering tea to a guest is a testament to the hospitality of the hosts. Arabs only drink green tea, since religion forbids them to consume fermented drinks.
Samovar Russia
In our country, it is customary to drink very hot, strong black tea. Previously, strong tea leaves were diluted with water from a samovar, which kept a fairly high water temperature for a long time. According to Russian tradition, tea is drunk slowly and for a long time, mainly from cups. This bitter drink is drunk with jam or sugar lumps.
Russia ranks 4th in the world in terms of total tea consumption after China, India and Turkey.
Mysterious Tibet
Perhaps the most interesting way to prepare tea is in Tibet. In this country, tea is very similar to a broth, and not to the traditional infusion, familiar to many. In these parts, a fragrant drink is made from strong green tea, butter made from yak milk and salt. This very hot mass is beaten well for a long time, until it turns into a homogeneous mixture. Surprisingly, this drink has excellent warming properties.
Cold America
USA - is considered the birthplace of iced tea. He is familiar to many under the name ICE TEA. The idea of drinking tea cold and preparing it using the express method was born at the beginning of the last century, during the World's Fair in the town of St. Louis. One of the tea producers decided to treat all the visitors of the event with his drink. And in particular, an uncountable amount of tea was prepared for them, however, since it was very hot, the warm drink was not particularly successful that day. So that the money invested is not wasted, the manufacturer added a large amount of ice to the tea. The result obtained made a real sensation, rumors about which very quickly reached other countries.
