Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Part I Determining What Our Ancestors Ate
- Part II Staple Foods: Domesticated Plants and Animals
- Part III Dietary Liquids
- III.1 Beer and Ale
- III.2 Breast Milk and Artificial Infant Feeding
- III.3 Cacao
- III.4 Coffee
- III.5 Distilled Beverages
- III.6 Kava
- III.7 Khat
- III.8 Kola Nut
- III.9 Milk and Dairy Products
- III.10 Soft Drinks
- III.11 Tea
- III.12 Water
- III.13 Wine
- Part IV The Nutrients – Deficiencies, Surfeits, and Food-Related Disorders
- References
III.11 - Tea
from Part III - Dietary Liquids
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Part I Determining What Our Ancestors Ate
- Part II Staple Foods: Domesticated Plants and Animals
- Part III Dietary Liquids
- III.1 Beer and Ale
- III.2 Breast Milk and Artificial Infant Feeding
- III.3 Cacao
- III.4 Coffee
- III.5 Distilled Beverages
- III.6 Kava
- III.7 Khat
- III.8 Kola Nut
- III.9 Milk and Dairy Products
- III.10 Soft Drinks
- III.11 Tea
- III.12 Water
- III.13 Wine
- Part IV The Nutrients – Deficiencies, Surfeits, and Food-Related Disorders
- References
Summary
Tea, a drink made from the leaves and buds of the shrub Camellia sinensis, is the most culturally and economically significant nonalcoholic beverage in the world. Originating in China, it had spread to surrounding nations before European contact, after which it was made a commodity of world importance by the British and Dutch East India Companies. Wars have been waged, nations punished, and fortunes made and lost because of this beverage. One reason that tea has been a very profitable article of trade is that it is a source of caffeine – a major factor in its popularity (Willson and Clifford 1992).
Although there are many kinds of herbal beverages called “teas,” in this chapter the term “tea” refers only to Camellia sinensis. Both infusions (pouring hot water over the leaves) and decoctions (boiling the leaves in water) have been made from the plant, which has also been eaten raw, cooked, or pickled and has even been snuffed.
Botany and Production
Camellia sinensis is native to the mountainous highlands between India and China and, when untrimmed, can grow to a height of about 10 meters. One variety, Camellia sinensis sinensis, is native to China, whereas Camellia sinensis assamica comes from India (Harler 1963). A semitropical or tropical climate is necessary for raising tea; the northernmost places where it has been grown are South Carolina (in the United States) and in Asia near the Black Sea. Bushes grown at high elevations produce the best tea (Willson and Clifford 1992). Yields range from 700 to more than 1,800 kilograms (kg) per acre (Harler 1964).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge World History of Food , pp. 712 - 720Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000
References
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