President’s Message
Fellow Rotarians,
Very Warm Greetings!!!
‘Tea’ is probably the second-most popular drink in the world next to water. There are different types of teas and, endless variations and flavours – so there is always that perfect tea for everyone. There are Green, Black, Dark, Oolong, Pu-erh, Yellow, White and Herbal Teas. Then, there is the size of the tea leaf – small and big.
For centuries, people across the world have testified to its medicinal, relaxing and invigorating qualities. The traditional calming effects of the plant ‘Camellia sinensis’ have elevated the beverage, produced from its leaves, to a role beyond quenching thirst — it is sometimes had as an aid for meditation, to soothe the nerves or simply to unwind.
Tea is heavily steeped in interesting traditions and cultures from around the world. Tea is not only a beverage of choice, but also a ‘way of life’.
There are about 62 tea growing countries spread across continent. The most expensive tea is said to be ‘Da Hong Pao’ from the Wuyi Mountains and can cost over $ 1 million a kg. Tea also has an equivalent of the Indonesian civet cat-digested and derived expensive ‘Kopi Luwak’ coffee beans: ‘Panda Dung Tea’. Panda dung, excreted from a diet of tea leaves and bamboo, is used to fertilise a type of tea plant to produce this expensive tea. Then there is India’s delicate ‘Darjeeling’ tea.
Brewing each type of tea is a skill. It determines the character, flavor, strength and bitterness of the tea prepared. Oh yes!! Hot water at the right temperature depending on type of tea is a must.
In the Middle East, getting together for cups of tea is about timelessness, hospitality, friends gathering, while playing cards or smoking a ‘hookah’. In Japan, the ‘matcha’ tea ceremony, ‘Way of Tea’ (‘Cha-No-Yu’) is an elaborate performance and ritual. In India, the most popular drink by far is ‘Masala Chai’, black tea (Assam or Nilgiri) blended with spices for its Ayurvedic health benefits. In China, tea was traditionally used as medicine. In its Golden Ages, was consumed for pleasure and artistic inspiration. Every culture seems to have its own unique story of tea, which makes it yet another reason to love tea!
As India’s most popular drink, the ritual of drinking ‘chai’ transcends all boundaries. Streets and roadsides are dotted with chai wallahs, who serve it boiled up with ginger, spices, sugar and milk. Several decades ago, chai was served in small earthen pots, known as ‘kulhar’ in Hindi or ‘bhar’ in Bengali, though plastic or styrofoam cups, tiny glasses and steel tumblers now seem vessels of choice.
During rail travels, the cries of “chai, chai, garma garam chai” from tea sellers, carrying kettles, now thermos flasks, along trains and platforms, is still common.
The small ‘Chai tapris’ or ‘Chai thelaas’ and huge tea-estates are often family businesses spanning many generations, competing with newer ‘Chai-bar’ chains.
Ever wonder what our world be, without ‘tea’?!
Preeti Mehta
President