When did people learn how to drink tea?

/TGVN/

Up to now, in the world, there is still no conclusion confirming exactly when people knew how to drink tea.

At the end of the 19th century, some books said that the leading countries producing tea were China, India, Ceylon (CEY-LAN), “Cochinchina” and Indonesia. At the end of the 19th century, Vietnam’s commercial ports still needed to be developed, except for Saigon port, which more or less exported tea abroad from the end of the 19th century, giving foreigners the impression that Cochinchina was a land of tea production—genuine tea exporter in the world.

Although it is unknown where tea originates from, it can be affirmed that people knew how to drink tea much earlier than drinking coffee (even in Vietnam, since the Ly Dynasty, that is, the 10th century, people have talked about drinking tea. drink tea). Tea was used in Asia and introduced to Europe in the second half of the 17th century as ready-made tea from small pots.

When did people learn how to drink tea?

Popular types of tea among users include black tea and green tea. When people want to keep the tea exported to Europe from spoiling, they ferment the tea leaves, then dry roast them and boil them, so the tea becomes black, the taste is poor, and the flavor of the tea is almost gone. No more. Europeans call it black tea based on the color of the tea, and since the 17th century, they have had the habit of drinking black tea.

Green tea is fresh tea, washed and boiled with boiling water. The tea water is green and has the aroma and delicious taste of tea. This type of tea does not undergo fermentation; it is just dry roasted and then steeped in boiling water to drink. The color of the tea is also green and retains both the scent and taste of the tea.

In Europe before the 17th century, Europeans could find some leaves (not tea leaves) that were washed and boiled, and when drunk, they had the effect of refreshing and preventing some mild colds. These leaves were used as medicine and called local tea. In Asia, besides green tea, which has been around for a long time (strongly brewed and effective against colds or diarrhea), local people also find some leaves, wash them, and boil them to make tea. Even in Vietnam, in addition to popular green tea, local people also have teas such as Manh tea, Robusta tea, “Mung Nam” tea, picked on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, right at Doan Ngo Tet, and some flower leaves. To make tea to drink.

At popular cafes, people use large and small cups, cups without handles, bowls… to drink tea. Here, people drink fresh, dried green, and heat-reducing teas in the summer. There are places like Guangzhou (China), and on Sunday morning holidays, everyone, including Foreigners, gathers at shops and restaurants to “sip tea” (Cantonese). At these shops, they only have a little breakfast and mainly drink tea.

At receptions, most countries around the world follow similar customs as follows:

Drink tea at the end of the party and drink it from a medium-sized ceramic cup with a handle (in some places, glazed ceramic cups or glass cups are used). Teacups are always more giant than coffee cups. Teacups must have accompanying cups.

At the end of the party, when all the dishes on the table have been served, the waiter takes turns placing cups and small spoons on the table for drinking coffee or tea.

If you drink green tea, the server pours the green tea on the tray and does not add anything to avoid losing the flavor of the tea. In many countries, especially in Asia, it is expected to drink green tea flavored with jasmine or lotus. In particular, if a customer wants to drink green tea with sugar, the server is ready to do so.

If you drink black tea, usually each cup of black tea comes with a slice of lemon and a little sugar. Some customers like to drink black tea with milk. The server must have this on the tray and be ready to serve according to the guest’s preferences.

There are places in the world when entertaining a small number of international guests; for example, in Taskent (capital of Uzbekistan), the host often invites guests to sit in a circle right on top of a large double bed with beautiful velvet cushions, accompanied by The folding pillows are covered with colorful brocade for guests to use as armrests. There is a tray in the middle of the bed. At the end of the party, the guests stay in their seats, and the host treats each guest to a bowl of scalding fresh tea (green tea) with sugar or something else.