My Tea Break

Rediscovering Tea around the world

Monthly Archives: July 2011


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Etymology of the word Tea

The Chinese character for Tea is 茶 , but it is pronounced differently in the various Chinese dialects.

Two pronunciations have made their way into other languages around the world. One is tê, which comes from the Chinese Min Nan dialect. The other is chá, used by the Cantonese dialect spoken around the ports of Guangzhou (Canton), Hong Kong, Macau, and in overseas Chinese communities, as well as in the Mandarin dialect of northern China.

The Portuguese and the Dutch, the original and major importers of Tea to Europe and the Middle East, mainly influenced the other European languages. Every language either have a cha or tê derived word.  

And… because you might find yourself in a different country and in need of a cup of Tea here is a list of the word Tea in 60 different languages:

Afrikaans: tee

Albanian: caj (pronounced chai)

Arabic: chai or shai

Armenian: te

Azerbaijani: caj (pronounced chai)

Basque: tea

Belarusian: harbatu

Bengali/Bangla: cha

Bulgarian: chai

Catalan: té

Chinese (Cantonese): cha

Chinese (Mandarin): cha

Croatian: caj (pronounced chai)

Czech: caj (pronounced cha-i)

Danish: te

Dutch: thee

English: tea

Esperanto: teo

Filipino/Tagalog: tsaa

Finnish: tee

French: thé

Galician: té

Georgian: ch’ai

German: der Tee

Greek: tsai

Haitian Creole: té

Hebrew: teh

Hindi: chai

Hungarian: tea (plural: teak)

Irish: tae

Italian: te (pronounced teh)

Icelandic: te

Indonesian: teh

Japanese: ocha

Korean: cha

Latvian: teja (pronounced tay-ya)

Lithuanian: arbata

Luxembourgish: Téi

Macedonian: chaj (pronounced chai)

Malay: teh

Maltese: te

Norwegian: te

Persian: chay (pronounced chai in most areas)

Polish: herbata

Portuguese: chá

Romanian: ceai

Russian: chai

Serbian: caj (pronounced chai)

Sinhalese (Sri Lanka): thé

Slovak: caj (pronounced chai)

Slovenian: caj (pronounced chai)

Somali: shaah

Spanish: té

Swahili: chai (pronounced cha-i)

Swedish: te

Taiwanese: de

Tamil (Sri Lanka): tea

Thai: chah (chah yen refers to Thai iced tea)

Tibetan: cha or ja

Turkish: cay (pronounced chai)

Ukrainian: chaj (pronounced chay)

Urdu: chai

(North) Vietnamese: che

(South) Vietnamese: tra (sometimes pronounced cha or ja)

Wolof: achai (pronounced uh-chuy)

Welsh: te

Yiddish: tey

Zulu: itiye

Happy cha or tê Break! :)

Tania


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Interview with Ashini Shah from The East India Company

We would like to thank Ashini Shah from The East India Company for, very kindly, answering a few questions for our blog!

M&T. What is the main concept behind The East India Company?

Granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, The East India Company was originally founded to explore the mysteries of the East. In the process, it mapped trade routes, discovered exotic goods, and established trading ports which would grow into the cities of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Mumbai. It introduced tea to Britain and India, chintz to America, spices to the West Indies, and porcelain to Russia.

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M&T. The East India Company was created in 1600. How do you balance your blend between Tradition and Innovation?

I think it this blend is precisely what makes our brand so authentic and creates a sense of differentiation. Every product we create has a reason, a story to support its being. From our George Staunton Earl Grey, which uses the original Chinese recipe discovered by George Staunton (a botanist from The East India Company)  – that contains both Bergamot and Neroli oils to our Mrs. Clements English Mustard – which follows the technique that Mrs Clements developed in making the first ever smooth mustard (that was supplied to King George I), we really aim to innovate within our heritage.

M&T. Why should people buy your Teas?

I think people should try our teas because before any tea is selected, it must pass through our tea master’s various rounds of approval and even blind taste tests! From Sri Lanka, our tea master Lalith has spent many years mastering the art of tea, from plucking leaves to managing the estate, and now is our official taster, blender, and in-house expert on all things tea. As a side note – When I came to work here, I was a complete and total coffee drinker, absolutely ignorant to the world of teas. But I was fortunate to be seated in the office next to Lalith. And with many tea samples that Lalith receives, we do a tasting, and talk through the various flavours and complexities. It is such an interesting experience to taste something so thoroughly and explore it in such an intricate manner.

 M&T. What do you want people to feel when they come to your store? 

 The store has been designed as an East India Company officer’s Georgian townhouse, filled with various treasures brought back from his travels and adventures to the exotic East. We want people to feel transported to a place that merges cultures and eras and offers a taste of intrigue and surprise.

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M&T. Can you describe how Tea makes you feel in one word?

Calm.

M&T. Do you have a Favourite Tea?

Hard to choose, but Green Tea with Jasmine is one of my favourites.

M&T. When is your next event?

Our upcoming August evening tea tasting events are on the 17th and 24th. They start at 7pm and consist of a guided tasting and sampling.

Also, we’re planning to launch morning tea explorations in August – every Tuesday at 10am.

All events will take place at our flagship store – 7-8 Conduit Street, London W1S 2XF and RSVPs should be sent to events@eicfinefoods.com

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Happy Tea Break!

 


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Boston Tea Party

We’ve all heard about the Boston Tea Party during our history classes, an event that shows the importance of Tea trading in World’s history.

In 1773, American colonists threw 342 containers of Tea from ships into Boston Harbor. The containers with 45,000 tons of Tea belonged to the British East India Company and the destroyed Tea was worth around £10,000  (The equivalent of a million dollars in today’s money).

The Americans were protesting both a tax on Tea (the Townshend Acts) and the  monopoly of the East India Company.  In 1773, The British Parliament passed a Tea Act that granted East India Company with a monopoly on all tea exported to the colonies, an exemption on the export tax, and a refund on duties owed on certain surplus quantities of Tea in its possession. It was stated that the Tea sent to the colonies had to be carried only in East India Company ships and sold only through its own agents, neglecting the independent colonial shippers and merchants.

The Boston Tea party was a key event for the Revolutionary war and an importance step to America’s independence.

Tea Party is a term that became synonymous of “protest” in American politics and the current Tea Party Movement is a reference to this event.

Happy Tea Break.

Tania


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Tea Cocktails @ The East India Company

Gill Nontha, from The East India Company, kindly invited me to a great event at their shop in Conduit St, London – Tea Cocktails!

Polo Punch

Polo Punch

We were very well welcomed with good energy, a lot of smiles and the 1st cocktail of the evening - George Staunton. This was a wonderful combination of The East India Company Staunton Earl Grey, Orange blossom cordial, Cointreau, a squeeze of lime, over ice. What a good way to be welcomed!

After everyone arrived, there was a presentation about the East India Company and an explanation of all cocktails that were going to be served through out the evening.

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The next one was Posh Punch  –  an amazing mixture of The East India Company Poppy Cordial with Sparkling water, summer fruits, lemon and lime with Ice.

The third cocktail was very interesting – it had a similar taste to Baileys. It is called Spice Trade Ice Tea and is a mixture of The East India Company Bombay Chai, dark rum, condensed milk, iced and garnished with grated nutmeg.

Indian Summers was my favourite! A combination of The East India Company Kama Sutra loose leaf Tea with The East India Company Lavender cordial on ice. The after taste was Fantastic!

The 5th Cocktail of the evening was called Trade Roots. A delicious mixture of The East India Company ginger green loose leaf Tea with The East India Company Demerara Island cane sugar and dark rum.

The last, but not the least – the Polo Punch – an amazing combination of The East India Company blend 68 – white Tea with tropical fruit flavours, champagne and The East India Company Hibiscus Cordial.

You would think we were lucky enough and that the event would end here, but there was more! After 6 delicious and quite different drinks, we were served top quality chocolates and biscuits of The East India Company. We were also served an amazing Tea from Tea´n´Teas . 

This was an extraordinary evening. It reminded me why I like Tea so much.

First of all, the history of the Company and the history of all ingredients we´ve tried reminded me that we do take everything for granted. Do you realise that if it wasn´t for adventurous and very brave men in the XVI and XVII centuries, we would not know what sugar, tea, salt, nutmegs were??

Secondly, the experience of tasting new combinations and flavours while meeting new people.

Thirdly, Tea always makes me feel totally relaxed and focused.

I would like to thank The East India Company for the invitation and highly  recommend you to register with The East India Company website, so that you are aware of these events!

London Store – The East India Company, 7-8 Conduit Street, London W1S 2X

Have a great week, Mariana!


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Tea and Home Decor

Have you ever thought of using Tea in your home decor?  Sherry from younghouselove.com certainly did.

Sherry used Tea to stain two white pillow covers. She created a Tea bath with french vanilla and black Tea bags and dipped the pillow covers to create a creamier tone.

 Check out Young House Love blog to see the whole process and for more DYI inspiration.

Pillows Before

And After...

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I couldn’t agree more with Sherry: “Hooray for Tea”

Happy Tea Break.

Tania


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Tea in the sky

I am moving to Lausanne, Switzerland, in a few weeks. My dearest colleagues gave me a great leaving present – London Afternoon Tea in the sky for two!!! So my husband and I went today to the 29th floor of the Millbank Tower wih a 360 degree view of London! What a good way to say goodbye to this wonderful city.

I want to thank you all for this great opportunity! I am going to miss you!

Mariana


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Pairing Tea and Chocolate

Have you tried pairing a good Tea with the right chocolate? It can be a match made in heaven…

It takes a bit of experiment to match the right Tea and Chocolate and it’s all about personal taste. Your best bet is to start with lighter flavoured chocolates and end with a more bittersweet chocolate. The darker the chocolate the more tannins it will have and this will often overshadow the Tea’s tannins on the palate. I prefer to pair White Tea or Teas with a sweet and floral aftertaste with bitter chocolates and vice-versa.

Here are some of my favourite brands:

  • Denegro is a chocolate artisan in Portugal with exquisite chocolates. They sell a box of 5 bonbons with creamy Tea infused: Earl Grey, Jasmine, Green Tea, Red fruits and mint.
  • Vosgues Haut – Chocolates have several great candy bars: Cherry Rooibos (African rooibos tea + dried Michigan cherries + 45% cacao deep milk chocolate); Matcha Green Tea (41% deep milk chocolate Tea infused with Japanese matcha green Tea). Sanctuary T shop in NYC organised a Chocolate & Tea pairing events with Vosgues Chocolat. (They also have a chocolate and bacon bar – It is worth a try!)
  • William Curley is a UK based Patissier Chocolatier based in Richmond and Belgravia. Tea Smith, London, usually organises a Tea & Chocolate Tasting event. The jasmine truffles are unbelievable…
And the best news is that this is also healthy. A Penn study suggests that pairing Tea and Chocolate can be beneficial for hearth health. Dr. Penny Kris-Etherton, distinguished professor of nutrition and lead author of the review, says, “Since tea, without milk or sugar, contains no calories, it’s an ideal way to add antioxidant flavonoids to your diet without increasing your weight. Having a chocolate cookie that also contains fruit and nuts along with the Tea, if consumed in moderation, can be a heart healthy snack.”
Nowadays you also have some Tea flavoured chocolates but we will keep that topic for another post as Chocolate is something that both myself and Mariana enjoy talking about. :)
Happy Tea Break. 
Tania


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Turkish Tea – Çay

It is hard to think of the Grand Bazaar or social gatherings  in Turkey without the presence of Tea. 

Offering Tea to guests is the most common ritual of the Turkish hospitality. Whether you are visiting a friend or just negotiating a handbag or a carpet at the Grand Bazaar you will always be welcomed with Tea.

Turkish Tea, usually called Çay, is similar to Black Tea and is strong and full-bodied. Also known as Rize Tea, this Tea is produced in the Rize province on the Black Sea Coast. Often you also get served “Elma Cay”, a sweet apple Tea. Note that the majority of Turks put a lot of sugar in their Tea.

Turks prepare Tea using a double Tea pot. Water is boiled in the lower pot and the Tea is steeped in the top one. This method allows each person to drink the Tea as they desire: strong and steeped, or light with lots of water added. Tea is then served very hot in small glass cups in the shape of a tulip, with a coloured base.

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I visited Turkey in August 2008 with my good friend Joana and was amazed because you are constantly being served Tea. It is the national hot drink of Turkey and you often see the locals relaxing drinking Tea and smoking narghile.

Happy Tea Break!

Tania


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Interview with Edgar Thoemmes from Canton Tea Co.

Last week I tasted 5 wonderful Teas from the Canton Tea Co. They were all of exceptional quality and each tea had it´s own ´strong personality´. It was a very good way to relax and to experience new smells and tastes.

In this context, we interviewed Edgar Thoemmes, director of the Canton Tea Co.  In this interview, Edgar tells us a bit about himself and also about Canton Tea Co.

M&T. Can you describe how Tea makes you feel in one word? Edgar. Focused

M&T. Do you have a Favourite Tea? 

Edgar. I tend to fix on a specific tea and then move on to another – at the moment it’s the Aged Long Juan Tie Guan Yin.

M&T. What is a perfect cup of Tea? 

Edgar. The one I make

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M&T. Can you tell us about your story with Tea?

Edgar. Got into it through working with friends who had just started the company. I came from a corporate banking background with a keen interest in all things foodie – and this fine Chinese tea just captured me instantly. I was blown away by the range of flavours, the history, culture and stories surrounding each one. Also the incredible parallels with wine – another passion of mine. I love how the terroir affects the flavour of every tea – how good, raw puerh can be put down to age, how many different subtleties there are in the fragrances, flavours and after-taste of each tea from each garden – and the age-old tradition and skill that goes into producing every one.

M&T. Which has been the most wonderful Tea plantation you have been?

Edgar. Mr Xu’s farm in Wen Shan – high up in the mountains of Taiwan has breath-taking views of thickly wooded hills and a lake far below. The Pouchong he produces is one of my favourite teas – always easy to brew, bright, floral and incredibly refreshing. I drink a lot of it iced during the summer.

M&T. What can you tell us about Canton Tea Co?

Edgar. We set out to be the UK’s foremost China tea specialist. After 4 years we can unreservedly make that claim because there’s no one else around with the range and quality of teas that we have. We focus on the provenance of the tea and we spend a lot of time educating people about tea. That may sound a little obsessive – it probably is. We give talks, presentations, tastings, workshops and training sessions to our trade customers. We’ve rapidly grown from a kitchen table start-up to a fully-fledged operation in Bristol. Our buying partners live in Guangzhou and have fantastic links to the traditional tea farms where our teas come from.

M&T. Why should people buy your Teas?

Edgar. You can’t buy better in the UK. Our range is carefully chosen to include great tasting teas at reasonable prices. It’s very hard to find such good teas -  even in China.  We have a large selection so you’ll definitely find some you’ll love.  If you need further reassurance, Teaviews is a leading independent tea review website in America which consistently rates us among the top 3 best tea companies in the world – out of 231 companies.

M&T. When is your next event?

Edgar. We hold regular talks and tea tastings at Petersham Nurseries nr Richmond in Surrey. The next one is with my colleague Jennifer on Saturday 16th July. See this blog post for a list of all of our upcoming tastings

http://www.cantonteaco.com/blog/2011/06/upcoming-tea-tastings/

For more information about the Canton Tea Co, please go to their website. I highly recommend their Teas! http://www.cantonteaco.com/

Happy Tea Time!


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