Tea: A Cultural Journey

Tea stands as one of the oldest and globally acknowledged beverages consumed today, with traders and travelers playing a pivotal role in spreading its popularity worldwide. The present tea culture, molded by tradition and influenced by social progress, has taken on diverse forms intricately woven into the social and economic landscape.

A compelling feature of tea is its cost-effectiveness and a broad spectrum of flavors. Whether savored alone or shared during social gatherings, the act of tea drinking has transformed into an enjoyable experience. Instances such as the Japanese tea ceremony and the English 4 o'clock tea emphasize tea's importance in diverse cultural traditions.

In Japan, the custom of tea gatherings, termed "chadô" or "the way of tea," emerged as a spiritual practice with precisely defined rules, leaving a significant impact on Japan's aesthetic principles. Simultaneously, the United Kingdom observes its own tradition of serving English-style afternoon tea from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., featuring sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, and preserves.

In the remote tea mountains of Xishuangbanna, the Bulong people integrate fresh tea leaves into their daily cuisine, incorporating them into salads, omelets, and various dishes. Additionally, they harvest leaves from tea trees aged up to several centuries to produce Puerh tea, a crucial source of income for them.

Tea has seamlessly woven into the fabric of Sri Lankan culture, synonymous with hospitality. Offering tea to guests is a widespread practice in every household, becoming an integral part of festivals and gatherings across the nation. Sri Lankans mark every occasion with a cup of tea, deeming it indispensable in their daily routines.
Tea: A Cultural Journey

Japanese tea ceremony

Japanese tea ceremony is a ceremonial way of preparing and drinking green tea typically in a traditional tearoom with tatami floor. The ceremony takes place in a tea house (cha-shitsu), which ideally is a small structure detached from the main house. Beyond just serving and receiving tea, one of the main purposes of the tea ceremony is for the guests to enjoy the hospitality of the host in an atmosphere distinct from the fast pace of everyday life. The tea ceremony represents purity, tranquility, respect and harmony and a lot of preparation goes into this important event.

The tradition of the Japanese tea ceremony is linked to Buddhism and it dates to the 9th century when it was taken by the Buddhist monk on his return from China. In Japan it became a status symbol among the warrior class and it started to evolve its own aesthetic.

The tea ceremony —or, directly translated, the "way of tea"—is in many ways a microcosm of the Japanese traditional sense of omotenashi, which translates as to look after guests wholeheartedly.

In the tea ceremony, every movement, every step and every moment is precisely defined. The matcha tea ceremony takes place in a designated room precisely four and a half mats in size (a tatami mat made of rice straw covers 170×85 cm or ten square feet).

Formal tea ceremony is a multi-hour event that starts with a kaiseki course meal, is followed by a bowl of thick tea and ends with a bowl of thin tea.

Every object used in the ritual is ritually cleansed, including the tea scoop, the whisk and the tea bowl. Every utensil is symbolic, and the ceremony takes place according to a specific principle. Bows are exchanged and then the first guest is given a bowl of tea. They take a sip, compliment the host on the tea, bow and then wipe the rim and pass it along to the second guest.
Japanese tea ceremony

Role of palm wine in society

This drink has a significant role in several nutritional, medical, religious and social uses such as traditional wedding ceremonies, traditional religious ceremonies or festivals, prayers and it is good for malaria.

The palm wine trade is an important economic activity for many tropical rural areas worldwide. In some areas, palm wine holds high sociocultural and traditional values. Wine tappers often climb very tall trees with rudimentary equipment to harvest palm sap and risk severe injuries in the event of a fall.

During ancient period, people drink palm wine in early morning in empty stomach before breakfast for health benefits. Palm wine has a special place in traditional celebrations and ceremonies such as marriages, burials and settling disputes. Generally, it is a popular drink among lower income people and it is believed to be good for the health, eyesight and also serves as a sedative.

Palm wine is enjoyed at birth celebrations, at funeral wakes, and plays an integral role during traditional marriage ceremonies. It is commonly thought to be a very nourishing drink which promotes lactation, treats conjunctivitis, and improves eyesight.

In Nigeria, palm is used in traditional marriage ceremony, traditional worship, festivals such as New Yam festivals etc and for consultation with our ancestors, ancestral spirits and deities.

Palm wine is also presented to seal agreements and land transactions. Consultation and renewal of covenant with ancestral spirits is usually done with native kolanut (seed) followed by the fermented palm-wine (or sometimes its distillate, local gin). It is believed that this renews and strengthens the covenant between the living human beings and the ancestors and also brings one in atonement with the spirit world.

In some villages in Cameroon, it is still expected that a certain quota of all the wine tapped is given to the Chief of the village. The act of sharing wine with the Chief is regarded as a sign of fidelity and homage. Offering palm wine to another is a longstanding symbol of gratitude and is significant in both business and personal relationships. Village social life revolves around the palm wine kiosk and these establishments enjoy popularity analogous to European salons and cafés.
Role of palm wine in society

Production of masato: beverage based yuka

Masato is a fermented drink based on yuka, which is a big tuber with lots of starch and very little sugar. It is equivalent of homemade beer.

So native Peruvians boil, peel and chew the yuka and let it sit for a few days. First they grate the roots and wash water through the coarse mixture, sieving it thoroughly. This removes a poison, a form of hydrocyanic acid, which occurs naturally in the tuber.

After grating, it is cooked and crushed with a wooden spoon. Normally, the women will around the pot, mashing the cooked tuber. The cooked yuka is then chewed into a paste by women and spit out into a large bowl or kettle. This operation is repeated as many times as is necessary to turn the yuka into masato.

The whole is now mixed with the hands. The enzymes in their saliva break down the starch and turn it into sugar—perfect for hungry yeast. After four days, the paste has fermented. It’s mixed with water, and then served. The drink, a weak alcohol, is traditional consumed in enormous quantities.

Production of masato: beverage based yuka

Yuka tuber

Fermentation of milk

Milk can be consumed raw, or it can be transformed into a variety of other forms, such as butter, yogurt, kefir, cheese and other fermented milk products. In pastoral societies, milk is traditionally consumed mostly in the form of fermented milk.

The art of fermenting milk is widespread in Africa. Cattle and camels are important dairy animals, and milk fermentation product vary widely.

For example, jben and ayib are Moroccan and Ethiopian cheeses, nono is a Nigerian yoghurt-like product, and Zimbabwe and Sudan also have fermented milk products.

The milk is either home-consumed or sold in the immediate vicinity of the herd.

Across Central Asia, yak milk is churned into butter and added to hot, salty tea, which is consumed in vast quantities on a daily basis. Bovine milks may be mixed with blood and/or grain by some pastoralist before consumption

Yogurt has been consumed since recorded time. Perhaps it was discovered by Mesopotamians in about 5000 BC when herdsman carry the milk with them in pouches made from an animals’ stomach.

These stomachs contained a natural enzyme called chymosin, which forms gel or coagulum when added to milk.

Cultured dairy products history also reported that Genghis Khan loved the taste of cultured products and mandated that all of his soldiers consumed them on regular basis.

In Kenya various additives such as wood ash, animal blood, urine and sometimes leafy vegetables may be added to preserve fermented sour milk called maziwa lala.
Fermentation of milk