Imagine a day without a cup of tea or that perky aroma heralding your first coffee of the day? Scary isn’t it…oh, ok, maybe not for you, yes ok and you, but aside from you two, for the rest of us, a day without tea or coffee is unimaginable. Many of us start our day, accompany our meals, or end our day, with a reviving shot of coffee or a refreshing cup of tea. So many of us in fact that 2.25 billion cups of coffee and 2.16 billion cups of tea (a billion of those are mine) are drunk worldwide each day. That’s a lot of tea cups and coffee mugs raised… we should wire all those elbows to the national grids to help provide green-energy for all those boiling kettles. These simple beverages, derived from trees, mark so many moments in our lives that I am sure there has never been any significant event in a person’s life that hasn’t been accompanied or bookended by a tea or coffee.
In this edition we are showcasing our pick of Asia’s great coffee and tea destinations, wonderful places to enjoy a good brew while deepening your understanding of the history and culture behind each cup. So brew up, sit down, and enjoy…
DARJEELING – INDIA
When the British began their love affair with tea in the 1600s, trading opium for tea with the Chinese, it started a journey that lead to wars over both opium and tea until the incredible story of Robert Fortune, botanist, spy, thief, in the mid-19th century, took the secrets of cultivating and preparing tea from China to British India and so began their strong and steamy relationship.
Darjeeling, a former hill retreat from steamy Calcutta during the days of the British Empire, is today a dream destination for tea lovers. Darjeeling tea is one of the best black teas in the world, if not the best, the name often chosen by numerous counterfeiters who try to pass their products off as this unique variety, which is why it is known as the champagne of teas. Undoubtedly there is more Darjeeling tea on the market each year than is actually produced, so one must shop carefully to ensure origination as unlike wine, provenance and appellation is poorly protected in the marketplace.
KYOTO – JAPAN
There is no better place to experience a Japanese tea ceremony than in Kyoto, Japan. The history of the ceremony goes back at least to the 16th century, though tea has been drunk in Japan for more than a thousand years.
Tea was first introduced to Japan from China as an aid to Buddhist meditation, but the tea ceremony has long been a revered facet of Japanese culture by both the Japanese and visitors alike. ‘Sado’, the way of tea, follows a very specific and ancient routine. Guests will be greeted by a silent bow and then engage in removing their shoes and ‘purifying’ through the washing of hands and the rinsing of mouths prior to moving on to the main ceremony within the tea house. Waiting areas are decorated with ancient scrolls and guests are summoned to the tea house by a gong. Sitting on the floor wearing a traditional kimono, you will be served ‘thick’ or ‘thin’ Japanese green tea according to your preference and this will be prepared by your server whose every carefully executed movement is a long-practiced art. At the end of the tea ceremony, you will be invited back to the decorative waiting area to remove your traditional garments, collect your belongings and return to the outside world, feeling serene, refreshed and relaxed.
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