Most likely you will not find a place where at least some part of population doesn’t spend hours each day for just drinking tea. We drink tea at every hour and everywhere: in the middle of working day, at home, with friends, at cafes. The main favor of this drink is due to the fact that it can make us feel more relaxed and comfortable. A cup of hot tea can calm you down in any bad situation; help to return balance and good mood. People drink tea for a variety of reasons, some just like it, for some it is an ideal excuse to meet with friends and spent some time together. For some countries like England, Russia, Japan, China tea ceremonies are still popular.
1.Russia
Tea is considered to be a national drink for Russian, and most of time it is as irreplaceable as such ingredients like bread or meat. It is taken at all hours of the day and night; tea is one of the drinks that believed in this country to help you while doing some mental work. Tea is drunk out of glasses in Russia. In the homes of the wealthy these glasses are held in silver holders as for the rest of the population the holders might be made of other varieties of non-expensive metals. These holders are decorated, of course, with the Russian hand-made arts. The typical Russian tea ceremony can’t be described without mentioning the Russian samovar, from the Russian “to boil itself”, its metal body is equipped with a cylinder two or three inches in diameter passing through it from top to bottom. The cylinder is filled with live coals, and keeps the water boiling hot. The Russian tea-pots are porcelain or wooden. Hot water to heat the pot is first put in and then poured out; dry tea is then put in, boiling water poured over it; after which the pot is placed on top of the samovar.
2.China
Tea-drinking ceremony is a nation-wide custom for the Chinese. It is a daily necessity for the Chinese to have three meals and at least a cup of tea a day. When a foreigner guest comes, it is a ritual to present a cup of tea to him/her. There are numerous tea-houses in every town and city, but the serving of tea varies here from the home-made ceremony. Tea-drinking in China is an art, something that needs a lot of time for learning. In some places the way of making tea is very complicated and has a local nature. And just as in Russia the tea utensils-the teacup, tea saucer, teapot, and tea tray-are works of art. Diansin (pastry), which goes with tea, both tasty and appealing, is loved not only by the Chinese but also by the people all over the world as a cool delicacy. There are hundreds of famous teas in China and there are a great many famous springs and streams to provide water to make tea as it is believed that those springs have mineral and curing features. And the tea fields or Tea Mountains are also marvelous sights to add beauty to the scenery.
3.England
As all of us are familiar with English stories, then most likely you know that there is not such a story where at least the word combination of “tea-drinking” is not mentioned once. Afternoon Tea is a social event governed by etiquette and accompanied by light sandwiches and cakes. This ceremony was nation-wide spread due to the queen’s official claim of doing so. Tea is poured in the cup first, then milk. Historically, this allowed the hostess to show off the best quality of her bone china (quality china didn’t crack with heat) and allows the milk to be added to suit the drinker’s taste. This early meal was adopted by the masses as ‘tea’ and now the word simply means the evening meal in many parts of Britain. Offering tea is considered polite and people have come to expect the offer as well. Event when a plumber is visiting your house to do his job he is also offered a cup of tea by the homeowner. Humans are comforted by ritual, but it is not just the ritual but the ingredients in tea that helps us to feel calmer and more prepared to return to the action-whether it’s back to the desk, building work, more errands or the grim task of dealing with bad news.Tea contains caffeine, which helps wake us up a bit if we’re slowing down, but it also contains an amino acid called theanine which works with the caffeine to allow us to be alert without stress symptoms.
4.Japan
If the gathering is held at a tea house having a waiting bench the guests will wait at the bench until summoned by the host. They ritually clean themselves by washing their hands and rinsing their mouths with water from a small stone basin, and proceed along the roji to the tea house. Guests remove their footwear and enter the tea house through a small door, and are then seated seiza-style on the tatami in order of the prestige of the guests. The host may build the charcoal fire in the presence of the guests, to heat the water for making the tea. During that time guests may be served a light, simple meal called a “tenshin”, or a full-course meal called “kaiseki” or “chakaiseki”. If no meal is served, the host will proceed directly to the serving of small sweets. Each utensil—including the tea bowl, whisk, and tea scoop—is then ritually cleaned in the presence of the guests in a precise order and using prescribed motions. The utensils are placed in an exact arrangement according to the particular style of tea-making procedure being performed as there is a number of various ways. When the preparation of the utensils is complete, the host will place a measured amount of green tea powder in the bowl and add the appropriate amount of hot water, then whisk the tea using set movements. When each bowl of tea is ready it will either be served to the guests by an assistant or the guests will retrieve the bowl themselves in the order in which they are seated.
5.Morocco
Ataí (Moroccan tea culture) is defined by the way green tea is prepared and consumed in Morocco, usually accompanied with food. Moroccan-style mint tea is now commonly served all through North Africa and it’s rather popular among the tourists an Arabic nations. Just like in most of tea-drinking countries tea here is served all through the day. Usually the meal is cooked by women but tea is considered to be traditionally a man’s affair. Tea is something to be served to guests, and it is impolite to refuse it. The preparation of tea is rather distinguishing here. First of all tea is being cleaned with boiling water before getting dried. It is believed to be that tea removes the dust and the bitterness of the tea. Most of the time the tea is added into the boiling water and left to stir. Right after that the exact amount of sugar and mint are added to the mix.
One important benefit of Tea is left out; –
– – – – – – – in cold damp areas of the Planet, it relieves arthritic pain after ‘sipping’ a cup of the blessed Brew.