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| Sunday, 25 April 2004 |
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Tea story : The first taste of green gold by ARYADASA RATNASINGHE "Every good cause and every generous object gains strength, purpose and determination when heated over a cup of tea that cheers." - An old Chinese saying.
The emperor had the reputation of being called the Divine Healer, with good reason, because the discovery of medicinal properties in many herbs and plants was ascribed to him. As a habit, he always drank boiled water, although the science of hygiene was not known then.
Thus began the habit of drinking tea throughout the world. The word 'tea' was derived from the Cantonese 'chah' and 'tay' from the dialect of Xiamen (Taiwan). The old English spelling was 'tee', which was later changed to 'tea' in 1660. In South China, it was known as 'te'. The Chinese were the first people to taste the tea leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis, which soon became a popular drink. Tea was first brought to Europe in 1610, by Spanish navigators, who had tasted it while in China as green tea (which is fired immediately after rolling, unlike the fermented tea, also known as black tea, which we drink. The habit of drinking tea did not become popular in England until 1657, when it rapidly became a fashionable drink in every home, but was expensive because cargoes had to be brought from China in specially packed tea clippers. Tea plantations were opened in 1823, in Assam (now a State in East India), and the European planters introduced the plant to Sri Lanka, as they found it to be a commercially viable crop. Among the modern producers of tea are Africa, South America, Russia, Indonesia and Iran. Some years back, Sri Lanka had the reputation of producing the best teas, and there was a good demand for quality teas known as Broken Orange Pekoe and Orange Pekoe, with a fine aroma and taste. They were mostly manufactured for export only, as the price is not within the reach of the common man. The tea plant was introduced to Sri Lanka from a botanical garden in Calcutta. These Assam tea seeds were planted at the Botanical gardens in Peradeniya, for the first time. In 1841, some seeds brought from China were planted on Rothschild Estate in Pussellawa (about 18 km from Kandy). It was in 1867, that James Taylor opened up 20 acres of land on Loolecondra Estate, for planting of tea, at Deltota, on a commercial basis. William Cameron, the European planter devised improved methods in pruning and plucking, to enhance the yield. In 1873, there were only 280 acres in tea, but ten years later, the acreage increased to 32,000, and in 1893, it rose to 273,000, and, today, the figure stands at approximately 700,000 acres. In 1903, the export earnings of tea rose to Rs. 58 million. Even today, tea is the major export earner of foreign exchange for the country. Out of the total production of tea, 30 per cent is locally consumed and the balance exported to European and Middle-East countries, where the demand for Lanka Tea is high. At the beginning, the labour force in upland tea plantations, consisted of cheap Indian labour, most of them being immigrants from south India, who came to the island in gangs, under 'kanganis' (supervisors), who recruited them from villages in South India, promising good emoluments. these poor labourers worked on tea plantations, notwithstanding sun and rain or cold and heat, and they were hard workers though they were paid low wages. When we look into history, the English East India Company had the tea monopoly from 1660 to 1858, and introduced the tea drinking habit among the westerners with good results. Many tea kiosks were opened in England to meet the rising demand for the soothing beverage, and grocery shops had brisk business in selling packeted tea. Tea was first sold in England in 1657, at the Thomas Garway's Coffee House in London. There was another at Mincing Lane, run by Thomas . Lipton, which name still stands in tea business. As there was a competitive market for tea, Lipton labelled his stuff as 'cheap tea', in order to subdue others in the trade. Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), at one time the British Secretary to the Admiralty (1672), had the occasion to taste for the first time, on September 28, 1660, and he wrote: "I did send for a cup of tea (the China drink), which I had never tasted before. It was so soothing that I never avoided drinking tea during my lifetime, even in my old age." Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is said to have warmed himself up with many hot cups of tea a day. Albert Einstein (1879-1955), the mathematical physicist had a good taste for tea which he never missed when wanted. At first, tea was drunk without sugar or milk added, but neat as beer or ale, despite the bitter taste. The housewives of New Amsterdam, appear to have given the start to adding sugar and milk to tea to make it taste better than drinking raw. But, in most countries, plain tea with or without sugar, is preferred. Some housewives in our country love to drink plain tea as a regular habit. There are three kinds of tea made from the same leaf. They are the black tea, the green tea and the colong tea. What we drink is black tea fermented between rolling and firing or heating in a sieve, and manufactured in factories. Green tea is preferred in China and Japan. Oolong tea (a variety of black tea, with the flavour of green) is known to the Chinese as 'wulung'. Both the green and oolong teas are drunk without the addition of sweetners. In Sri Lanka, tea is grown at different altitudes above sea level. Those below 2,000 ft. are known as 'low-grown tea', those between 2,000 to 4,000 ft. are known as 'mid-grown tea', and those above 4,000 ft. are the 'high-grown tea'. Of the total area under cultivation, low-grown teas account for 27 per cent mid-grown teas for 33 per cent and balance 40 per cent is high-grown teas. They have a competitive market abroad and England imports bulk of the high-grown teas, in view of the rich flavour. The tea plant belongs to the botanical family Theaceae. In its wild state, it grows to a height of about 14 ft., but under cultivation, the growth is restricted to four feet by pruning to maintain the required height to ease plucking. The tree is native to Assam and Myanmar though history records that it was known to the Chinese from ancient times. In plucking tea leaves, the shoot tip with the first two leaves are plucked. After 24 hours, the leaves are spread in shelves in withering lofts. The leaves are then broken up by rolling machines, which release the essential oils, and allowed to ferment. In this process, the leaves pass through ovens, where the moisture is removed, allowing blackish tea to emerge ready for sifting into various grades, the lowest being fannings. The quality of the grades is tested by tea-tasters who have the expertise at the job. Most factories now use electricity to operate the machinery, but where power supply is not available, the old Ruston-Hornsby engines do the job. After the British occupation of the island in 1815, the European planters, looking for suitable investments, became much attracted by the mild climate and rich soil in the upland country. They first took to plant in coffee (Coffea Arabica), for which there was a great demand, as a commercially viable crop, in most western countries. Crown lands were bought at 50 cents an acre, and large extents of forest lands were cleared on the mountain slopes, for cultivation in coffee. A disease known as 'blister blight' began to spread from estate to estate, and many coffee plantations were destroyed. The coffee planters abandoned the idea of opening coffee estates, and gave place to tea plantation. There was a favourable market for tea, specially in England, and most of the Sterling Companies that owned tea estates, made large profits over their investments. Today, most of these companies are owned by the private sector, some managed by the Janatha Estates Development Board and Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation and the Land Reform Commission, as proprietors or lessees, while some are private owned. In 1927, the Japanese government gave publicity to promote the tea drinking habit. It said: "Tea is a precious food element, believed to be a safeguard against several common ailments and, at the same time, as a most invigorating drink for the hard-working men, to relieve tiredness and refresh the body. Tea is good for rheumatic pains sallow complexion and laxity. "When the tea drinking habit was first introduced to England, a controversy arose as to how it affected the health of the community. They asked: "It is a panacea or rank poison?" However, they soon realised the truth, and tea became the most cherished drink among those who criticised it. With the opening of the tea plantations in Sri Lanka, people soon became addicted to the beverage, and even in the poorest home, water boiled in kettles, to prepare the much wanted drink. Today, when a relative or a visitor or a stranger comes to one's home, he or she is offered a cup of tea as a token gesture. Tea has entered into the social life of the people, and has taken the role played by the betel tray. |
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According to a Chinese legend, the first person, who unknowingly,
tasted boiled tea, was the mythical Chinese emperor Chen Nung, who is said
to have lived 4,700 years ago, when Noah (Biblical character), a holy man,
was given divine instructions to build an Ark to save people from the
Great Deluge (flood).
The story says that emperor Chen Nung was sitting by the side of his
camp fire, on which a cauldron of water was just coming to boil. The fire
was kindled by using dry branches of the camellia trees (an evergreen
shrub akin to tea). Some scorched leaves, from those branches swirled up
into the air blown by the wind and a few fell into the boiling water. The
aroma that emanated from the cauldron tempted the emperor to taste the
boiling water. To his surprise, he found the flavour strong and
refreshing.
