We have decided to blog about different Tea Traditions around the world…because we love tea and it is a lovely way to learn about other people's culture. We will kick start this initiative from the East and make our way around the globe right back into Leeds…

In China, long before tea became the beverage of choice and a way of life, it was considered a medicinal staple. Tea was not only a treatment for individual illnesses, but was also a general health tonic, said to promote long life and vitality. Even today, in traditional Chinese medicine, green teas and pu-erhs ( Pu-erh or Pu'er is a variety of fermented and aged dark tea produced in Yunnan province, China) are prescribed for a variety of complaints, especially as modern research has come to support many of these claims. Tea was also used by those wishing to achieve better results while meditating, and became popular with Buddhist priests who later introduced it to the aristocratic circles. For some time, only people of high standing in the imperial courts and these select priests were able to drink tea on a regular basis. But later on, tea became more widely available to all people, and the lower classes were finally able to enjoy tea more frequently.

Another tradition to mention is the curious yak butter tea from the mountains of Tibet. Strong black tea leaves, or often Pu-erh, are simmered overnight to create a very strong concentrate of tea. This concentrate is churned in a special vessel with yak or goat’s milk butter and salt for a thick and frothy concoction. This tea is drunk every day by most people and, because of its high caloric count, is an important nutrition source for the Tibetan people…How fascinating…