Tea lovers out there are just a moment away from having their next cup and we don't blame them. Such is the impact of the beverage that it gets you to love it, one sip at a time. Not just that, tea also is one of the most popular beverages in the world – again, we are not surprised. The best of tea leaves come from one of the smallest hill towns of West Bengal, India. Said to have originated in northeast India, north Myanmar and in southwest China, Kalimpong and Nepal's produce fetch the highest bid in international markets. Tea plantations hold immense importance for different reasons. It is also one of the most important sources of employment in the hilly regions.
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But, there was a time in history when tea was about to get banned. Bet you didn't know this? Here are a few more facts you did not know about your favourite beverage, too. Read along:
1.Tea was once considered dangerous
In the middle of the 17th century, a lot of thinkers came around to state that drinking tea can cause adverse health effects. John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism – a modernist movement of historically related Protestant Christians, preached complete avoidance of tea.
2.Tea contains more caffeine than coffee
Yes, this blows our minds, too. But, wait, this is more complicated than that. Coffee requires more coffee beans to be made whereas tea requires fewer tea leaves. So, even if coffee contains lesser caffeine, eventually, because of its quantity, it ends up affecting the human body more, whereas, tea seems to stay safe.
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3.Would you like your tea adulterated with twigs, sawdust and sheep dung?
Yikes, but that's what the reality was in the 1770s. As the leaves were extremely expensive, it was adulterated by the manufacturers to shoot up the profits. But, they ended up boiling ash leaves in sheep dung for colour. Adulteration was done for both bulk and flavour.
4.Care a dollop of butter in your tea?
In the Himalayas, tea is consumed to keep the body warm from the extremities of the climate. Hence, the natives prefer to add butter (obtained from yaks) to their tea. In Tibet, this preparation of tea is called po cha.
5.Love for tea, for this life and beyond
In 141 BCE, Han Dynasty Emperor Jing Di was buried with a wooden crest containing all the materials that he may require in his afterlife. The crest's main ingredient was high-quality tea leaves.
Seems like, tea fought through history and caffeine to be one of the most popular and sought-after beverages of the world. Nonetheless, it deserves so.