The Story of Tea, Warming up! and Chit-Chat, class 9th

 

1.4 The Story of Tea

Warming up!
Chit-Chat

Can you make tea?

Yes, I can make tea. /No, I can’t make tea.

How do you make tea?

We make tea by mixing tea powder in boiled water with sugar; sometimes we mix milk in it. 

 What brand do you like?

We use local brands of mixed tea powder.

 

At home, who makes tea/coffee for everybody?

My mother makes tea for everybody.

 

Have you seen a tea plantation? What was it like?

Yes, I have seen tea-plantation at Amba Mountains in Kolhapur district.

It was like, green cover laid on the slope of the mountains.

 

Write the names of as many beverages as you can within

two minutes. What do the following beverages remind

you of? Draw word webs to show your associations.

 

Tea – cup, biscuits, saucer, toasts, mother, freshness, tea-stall

Coffee – mug, guests, cafeteria, friends, canteen,

Lime juice – glass, summer, sweet, quizzing, cold drink house,

Lassi – cold, thick, sour and sweet,

Coconut water – beach, tender coconut,

Milk – cream, babies, morning, milkman, cow, tea, coffee

 

 

MARGIN QUESTIONS –

 

1. How is tea the beverage made?

A refreshing, astringent flavoured tea is made by brewing,

that is by infusing in boiling water.

 

2. How is the tea that is packed and sold to us made?

The leaves of tea are at first dried, cured, and processed before

they are packed and sold to us.

 

 

3.  Where are tea estates located?

Many of the world’s best tea estates are located on hill slopes at elevations of up to 1500 meters, it is said that the tea plants grow slowly and acquire a richer flavour at this height.

                 

4. Why are tea plants pruned?

The tea plants are pruned and kept at a height of about three feet (waist high) to enable easy plucking of the leaves.

 

5. What are botanical names? How are they decided?

- The botanical name is a scientific name (scientific Latin name) of a plant that is accepted worldwide. This name is decided by its similar characteristic. And this scientific Latin name never changes, though its names are different in different regions.

 

 

 

6. What does tea contain?  What does it not contain?

- Tea contains theanine and caffeine.

 It does not contain carbohydrates, fat, or proteins.

 

7. Who was Emperor Shennong?

- Emperor Shennong was the father of Chinese

agriculture and medicine,

 

 

8. Why did he carry out further investigations about tea?

- The Emperor was excited by the unknown plant and its

amazing flavour, so he carried out further investigations.

 

 

9.  How did tea reach other parts of the world?

 

-   A Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma used tea leaves

to stay awake for a longer time in prayers and meditation.

He introduced tea among his disciples.

Japanese priests studying under Buddhist teachers in

China carried tea seeds and leaves back home with

them. Turkish traders also began to bargain for tea

on the border of Mongolia. That is how tea reached

the other parts of the world.

 

10. What is the difference between legends or stories and history?

- The legends or stories may be true or may not be true. But the history is the record of past events collected systematically through a scientific method and considering all facts. But we cannot deny the importance of the legends or stories which are part of our tradition. We cannot say legends are totally false.

 

11. Can you guess the origin of the Marathi word ‘chaha’?

- The pronunciation of ‘chaha’ comes from the Persian word ‘cha’ was first used by the north Indians. Then it came into the Marathi language.

 

 

 

 

 

 

12. The paragraph about how tea came to India brings out the difference between

history based on oral sources and ‘recorded history.

Discuss how the author brings it out.

 

- Historians think that tea had been known in India

as a medicinal plant since ancient times,

but tea was not drunk for pleasure until the British

started plantations. This is the oral source of Indian history that tells tea was there in India since the ancient times. They made several

unsuccessful attempts to grow tea, with seeds from China. But failed,

the botanist Robert Bruce in 1823 discovered tea plants

growing wild in the Brahmaputra valley. After a few years,

the first Indian tea from Assam was sent to England for public

sale. Since then India has gone on to become one of

the leading producers of tea in the world.

 

13.  What is the difference between ‘claim’ and ‘fact’?

- To say that something is true or valid without any proof is a claim.

   And something that is true or reality is the fact. 

14. Do you have any ceremonies associated with food items?

- We have many festivals and ceremonies but they are not directly related to food items. On many occasions in Indian festivals, many delicacies are prepared. Puran Poli, Modak, Laddus and many other sweets are prepared on these occasions. 

 15. What are the good qualities of tea?

- Some people say that tea is a healthy, enjoyable, and stimulating drink full of good qualities. It reduces loneliness and calms your heart; it is a comfort in everyday life. 

16 Why are the cups only half-filled in Chinese tea ceremonies?

- At tea ceremonies, cups are only half-filled as the

Chinese believe that the rest of the cup must be

filled with friendship and affection.