Over the years, our blog has addressed lots of tea themes. From what tea is and how to prepare it, to different tea customs, history and teawares. We have looked at every twist and turn and nuance of tea and yet the articles keep coming. Why? Because that is tea – ever present and changing and yet the same. For those fairly new to our blog, though, I thought a look back at some of those themes was in order.

What Tea Is

A lot of things get called “tea” these days, even a soupy version of decayed vegetative matter for use in your garden (of course, those spent tea leaves can do some good there, too). Sorting out what is what can be tricky. These articles and more seek to do just that:

• Chinese Teas
• Oxidized or Fermented Tea?
• Korean Tea
• Atypical Herbal “Teas”
• Gunpowder Green Tea Varieties
• Beyond Black: Expand Your Tea Horizons
• Ranking Your Oolongs
• Yunnan Basics
• Pu-erh Tea Cakes Are Not Created Equal

How to Prepare It

This section is huge, popping up page after page of articles (325 and counting). A few highlights:

• Taking My Sugar to Tea: To Sweeten or Not to Sweeten
• The Chinese Method of Preparing Tea
• The Great Tea Bag vs. Loose Tea Controversy
• The Logic and Nonsense of Tea Infusion Period Instructions
• When There Is Too Much Tea in My Tea
• Cooking with Flavored Teas — A Real Trend
• Rethinking the Perfect Cup of Tea
• 3 Teas That Steep Up Best by the Cupful

Tea Customs

Tea, the global beverage, second only to water in popularity, is enjoyed in a variety of ways, many of which have become true customs. Some of them are shown here:

• Devonshire Cream Tea
• British and American Tea Habits
• Chanoyu: An Overview of the Japanese Tea Ceremony
• Tea Traditions — Russia
• UK Tea Revisited

Tea History

Tea drinking has been around for thousands of years, so it is safe to say that it has a bit of history. A quick search again popped up a long list from our blog. Here are a few samples:

• Tea History – The Commutation Act of 1784
• The Natural History of the Tea-Tree
• The History of Tea Drinking: An English Tradition
• The History of Iced Tea
• When Tea Came To Japan
• Tea Growing Regions of India

Teawares

Cups and pots and kettles and strainers and gaiwans…oh my! How do you sort it all out? With these and other articles from our blog:

• Shelley Teacups
• Cast Iron Teapots
• Yixing Teapots
• A Stirring Tea Experience (or How a Teaspoon Got to Be a Teaspoon)
• Those Wonderful Amsterdam Teapots
• The Luxury of a Silver Tea Service
• The World’s Most Valuable Teapots
• Teapots at the British Museum – Part 1

Foods, books about tea, and simply enjoying tea moments (with or without a good book) are also themes we’ve covered and will continue to cover. Check out the blog sometime to see what is there. You never know what treasure you will find!

See more of A.C. Cargill’s articles here.

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