History of Pu-erh Tea »
Posted by Anita - May 22, 2011
This tea can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty 25 - 220AD. Pu-erh tea was so popular that it was used like currency to barter for goods. The Emperor of China was presented with the finest Pu-erh tea as a tribute tea. To this day the Chinese use this tea as a traditional medicinal tea with many benefits to health. Its name is derived from the city of Pu-erh in South Western China from where the tea was traded.
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Scotsman - Father of Ceylon Tea »
Posted by Anita - May 22, 2011
James Taylor, 'Father of Ceylon Tea'
Born in Scotland during the 1830, James Taylor was one of the most influential tea pioneers of Ceylon tea. At the young age of 16yrs, he signed up to work as an Assistant Supervisor on the Loolecondera Estate coffee plantation in Ceylon. After 5 years, his employers were so impressed by his work they placed James in charge of the whole estate which was around 1,100 acres at that time. Having been instructed to experiment with tea plants and got his first seeds from the Royal Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya near Kandy, James left Sri Lanka briefly during 1866 to visit India where he studied the basics of growing tea on plantations. On his return James cleared over 19 acres of forest to plant his first seedlings in the district of Hewaheta Lower. James began to experiment with different methods of processing the tea leaves using his bungalow as a factory, rolling and firing the leaves over charcoal fires.
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Scotsman Discovers Tea »
Posted by Anita - May 19, 2011
The discovery of a new tea and a new era.
The commercialisation of Assam tea all started with a Scottish gentleman, Major Robert Bruce (not to be confused with Robert the Bruce!) in 1823 when he learned from a native nobleman, Maniram Datta Barua that the main tribe in Assam, the Singhpo, grew tea unknown to the rest of the world. Robert Bruce saw the commercial opportunity and arranged to collect samples of the leaves and seeds to send for official confirmation to East India's Botanic Gardens in Calcutta. However, East India declined to confirm the samples were tea and unfortunately for Robert Bruce, he died the following year. Of course the story doesn't end there, as prior to his death; Robert passed all his knowledge on to his younger brother Charles.
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Leonardo da Vinci, Mango and Tea »
Posted by Anita - May 19, 2011
Tea is full of history in its own right, however often the wonderful natural flavours used in flavoured teas have their own stories to tell.
Mango is a fruit from a tropical fruiting tree ( Mangifera indica L.) that can reach up to 40m in height and needs a frost free climate to thrive in warmer subtropical areas like that of the Indian subcontinent, indeed nearly half of the worlds mangoes are grown there and have been for thousands of years. As mangoes are rich in a variety of phytochemicals (plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties) and nutrients it is often referred to as a super fruit and takes anywhere between 3 - 6 months to ripen.
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It all started in China! »
Posted by Administrator - May 18, 2011
The discovery
Today, more tea is drunk around the world than any other beverage. Chinese legend suggests the recognition of its beneficial qualities all started when in 2737 BC, Emperor Shen Nung, a scholar and herbalist who drank only boiled water, was resting under a wild tea tree. A slight breeze caused the branches to stir and a few leaves to gently fall into a pot of simmering water he was preparing. The emperor found the resultant brew to be so deliciously refreshing and revitalising that 'tea' was 'discovered'. Whilst it's difficult to know if there is any truth in this legend, it is accepted that tea was popular in China around that time.
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