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.
- 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.
