The Culture of Tea from Japan, India, and China - Essay Example

SIА & THЕ WОRLD University Student Id Course Date Introduction Tea and other things related to tea from China created some cultural attitude, identity makers, and behavior in societies in the western world. The culture of tea diffused from Japan, India and China into Europe and then the rest of the world through admirations, adaptation, adoption and later assimilation. The idea concerning tea, the material cultures, associated behavior become the identity of class especially in the western states (Zaveri, 2014). Tea in most of the regions was declared is the most preserving and wholesome in perfect age until the old age. The popularity of tea made it spread in many countries globally where it promoted British and Europe ceramic technologies. In some regions, tea drinking becomes the determinant of the social status where it formed part of dowry payment in some countries. Tea becomes an important commodity in the western world where since 17th century tea become part of the culture in Western (Cooper, 2012). Tea managed to penetrate cultures of different countries making it become an important part of the cultures and traditions of various countries. In countries like North America, France, and Australia tea become a distinct culture that formed part of the daily lives of many people in the countries. The origin of tea culture is dated many years ago where the “tea culture” diffused to various regions and become popular to a point where many countries made tea form part of their culture. Approximately 5000 years ago human beings realized that tea leaves can be an important part of drink making many people start consuming tea (Dixon, 2011). The preparation of tea was different from one region to the other as the penetration rate of the tea culture was determined by the way the people in the countries embraced tea. Tea Asia and the world The tea culture did not only spread in the Asian countries but also in the other regions of the world such as the United States where tea become second drink in popularity after water. The tea culture was assimilated into the traditions of the various countries where tea touched live of many people making the culture penetration easy. In countries like India, United Kingdom, France, and Sri Lanka among other countries the tea culture has been grown and still is thriving (Grigg, 2012). Considering the legend of the China, it shows that tea came into existence during 2727 BC, in the period when the emperor Shen Nong was in the process of purifying water in a certain shelter of tea tree, whereby several leaves were blown by the wind and hence blew into the inside of the pot. Moreover, unexpectedly, the brew which resulted in that pot, ended up producing a superb fragrance, color as well as its taste which made the emperor rejoice (Kiernan, Trumpbour, and Hobsbawm, 2015). Therefore, tea after that time was made to be a daily drink in the culture of China. However, in India, there was another legend story which is given by Prince Dharma, who had left his homeland which was the China, for the purpose of going to preach Buddhism. The most amazing issue from the story of Prince Dharma is that she made a vow of not sleeping during his whole course of his mission which took nine years (Inayatullah, 2013). However, the third year of his mission, Prince Dharma was overtaken by the tiredness. Hence he decided to pick few leaves from the tea tree, and then he chewed them up. Moreover, tea is usually a very significant part of the tradition of the China. Considering the development as well as the progressiveness of the Society of China, the production of tea played a critical role in contributing to the development of the economy of China since the consumption of the tea became a practice as a daily life drink (Berger and Huntington, 2012). Moreover, the culture of drinking tea can result into the spirit and also the wisdom of human beings moving into a higher orbit since tea has a very close relationship to the culture of the Chinese people, and also the tea study usually covers a broad field which comprises of very rich content. Also, during the year of 1610, the Dutch traders took the green tea from China and then started marketing it as an exotic product which is used as a medicinal drink. Moreover, among the Europeans, it was the Portuguese who were the first in making a commercial trade for the tea. However, in the European countries tea was usually served from the coffee houses since the coffee had arrived much earlier than the tea in this region (Boehm, et al. 2012). Tea cultures in the world The tea culture has been different in various regions globally where the countries in different parts experienced a different rate of tea culture diffusion. For instance, in India, the penetration of tea culture was slow where the building of tea culture in India started the mid-1800s. During that time Indians had no control over the politics of their country hence building tea culture could not be easy. The British government was the colonizer of India where it started cultivating tea mainly as cash crop hence assisting in spreading the tea culture into India. Many Indians welcomed tea as an important part of their drinks making it popular. The tea culture since the colonial time spread even after the country attained independent and now tea in India is among the major exports as India exports more tea than many other countries globally (Martin, 2011). The tea culture was assimilated into the Indian culture and traditions making most of the tea planted in the country consumed locally. The India tea become popular in eastern Asia as tea was considered robust where it was mostly mixed with some milk and made strong. Currently, in India, tea is an important economic commodity as it has been contributing an important part to the economy of India. Also, tea in India become part of the social ceremonies and daily diet where it was commonly consumed globally. The influence of the British as the colonizer of India is still witnessed today as Indians drink tea frequently especially at a workplace where they drink tea during daybreak, and even in schools tea was considered an important drink and stimulant (Taylor, 2013). The popularity of the tea in India made tea an important part of the lives of the Indians making tea culture remain alive in India for a long time. The tea culture in France The tea culture in France was developed recently where the tea drink was taken as a digestive aid making it common among the citizens. The tea culture almost disappeared in the 1850s where the French combined the art of pastry and the common social tea drinking culture in France. The country has few tea rooms and social areas that provide tea in different occasions. However, currently, the citizens in France are rediscovering the various benefits that are associated with tea just like the other people in different parts of the world (Smith, 2012). Tea cultures in Russia The Russians have also adopted the tea culture where they drink only hot tea but not iced tea. The climate of Russia does dictate the times of taking tea where tea is mostly taken early part of the day, especially morning hours. At first, tea was associated with the high-class people as it was not largely available in Russia but later there was an increase in the supply of tea from India and China making everyone in Russia able to access tea (Kurahashi, et al. 2010). The availability of tea in Russia led to the development of the tea culture as everyone in Russia was enjoying tea making it part of their traditions. The Russians have created a unique tea culture in the country where the tea prepared in Russia has unique features such as seasoned sugar where the tea consumed in Russia is mostly black. The tea culture in Japan The tea culture in Japan is among the most famous cultures globally. The Buddhist monks are said to be the first people to introduce tea in Japan as they brought tea into the country from China leading to the birth of the ancient tea ceremony of Japan. The ceremony has been surviving over the centuries making tea culture become part of the traditions of Japan. Japan has built its reputation as the best exporter of high-quality matcha tea (Newman and Newman, 2016). The Japanese tea ceremony has become very powerful as the Japanese have been embracing tea culture in numerous ways. The ceremony started spilling over to other regions such as Europe North America as people discovered the health and beauty of the Japanese tea ceremony and matcha tea. Tea culture in the UK The United Kingdom has been accounting for more than consumption of tea per capita than in China and any other country globally. The tea cultures in Britain started in the year 1700 the moment the ships of India companies brought tea from India. The tea replaced coffee as the best beverage that was the choice of many people. The penetration of tea in the United Kingdom was fast as I was affordable o both the lower and the upper classes making tea drinking form part of the important culture of United Kingdom (Harrison, et al. 2015). Currently, the whole world loves and knows breakfast tea in the United Kingdom where the common linguistic contrivance referred to as “tea time” is among the English inventions that are associated with tea culture. Tea culture in China China experienced a highly developed tea culture where for more than 4000 years China has managed to build strong tea culture. At first, in China tea was being consumed as a medicine and later it was being consumed as a beverage for social occasions. Currently, in China tea drink does play important role in social events such as marriage and business meetings (Fair and Barnitt, 2010). China has been considered unique due to the historical importance of tea culture where China is considered to be the major origin of tea as both Japan and India got their tea from China. Implications of tea China is usually a homeland which is not disputed for the tea as well as the tea consumption. However, in accordance with the preferences of the Chinese tea given 5000 years back, concerning the tea leaves which fell into the boiled water of the emperor it was quite ironically in that, the extraordinary power. The power emperor of China had cannot be compared to the both of the political and the economic clout which is known as the Camilla Sinensis bush which is usually known to the whole world as the Chinese tea (Chaudhuri, 2013). Moreover, in the ancient China during the period of the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese people made use of the tea as a medicinal drink, whereby they mixed tea with onion, orange, ginger and other various spices. Additionally, tea was not easily affordable by the majority of the Chinese people hence it was in most cases used by the emperor as gifts and tribute. However, in the past 700 years back, it was the time when for the first time the imposition of the tax on the tea was enacted in China. Also, an orphan who was extra ordinary known as the Lu Yu wrote down the first book which gave a description concerning the tea. Moreover, this aspect of the descriptive book concerning the issue of ended up making the emperor gain a lot of patronages (Vinson and Dabbagh, 2008). During the period of the Song Dynasty which took place between the years of (960-1279), the tea houses which contained elegant porcelain teacups had already appeared. However, the Chinese producers of tea grounded their tea until it became into a powder, and then whipped it into a smooth froth, hence making the tea vessels to become an art form since the tea bowls become deeper and broader thus aiding into whipping (Joffe, 2012). Moreover, the teahouses, teas which were scented, as well as the tea events became the range of the Chinese people from the higher classes. During the early years of 1200, the Mongols made an invasion to the China, hence welcoming the Yuan Dynasty which took place until in the year of 1368 (Wahlqvist, 2015). However, these Mongolians never paid a lot of attention concerning the tea service, but they adopted the method of whereby they salted their tea and then mixed it with the milk, and then they consumed it during this fashion day. Moreover, under the Mongols teahouses remained to be present in the popular places for the both of the poets and scholars to be able to meet them. During the period of elegant Ming Dynasty in the year, between1368 and 1644 was characterized by the improvements of various ways of processing tea (McCants, 2014). However, the process of parching the tea by using hand into big cauldrons at various heats led to the transformation of the green tea to a completely different drinks whereby the both black and oolong versions now was able to appear. Also, it was during this time when the tea which was scented became very popular among the all the classes of the Chinese people; hence the whole tea leaves were mostly preferred as compared to the tea which is crushed and powdered. Additionally, it was actually during this time when the Europeans came to discover the Chinese tea (Mahbubani, 2013). Among these Europeans, the Portuguese Jesuit Father Jasper de Cru was the first individual to come across the tea, and then he wrote about it in the year of 1560. Later on, in the year of 1589, other various Europeans acquired the information concerning the tea, the time when the Venetian author and the Venetian council credited the Asian longevity about the tea drinking. Conclusion The tea culture does not only entail the spirit of civilization but also it consists of the spirit of the ideological form. Furthermore, there is no doubt concerning the benefits of the tea culture in improving both of the social accomplishment and also the appreciation of the art of people. However, the history concerning the Chinese tea is a very long and also a gradual story of the refinement. Moreover, both of the growers as well as the producers of the tea have made important perfections on the Chinese method of manufacturing tea, and also it`s many various regional variations. Tea globally has become me than a drink as different cultures globally have developed tea drinking traditions and rituals. Some of the cultures have incorporated tea where it has become a common and unique drink in the ceremonies. People are now looking tea as a healthy drink and a way of relaxing as tea has been associated with numerous benefits. The tea drink has turned to be fun and an alternative to colas and wine. 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