"Food ways" is an expression that dates back to 1946. It refers to the eating habits and culinary practices of a people, region, or historical period. Food Ways Presented by Everyday Exotic Spices: Food finds for foodies and food lovers - curated content from around the web, sharing the ways we all like to enjoy our food! Food history, recipe sharing, and all things food-related. This foodie blog is aimed at newbie cooks or beginners. But everyone is welcome!
With regard to the evolution of tea, we all know (or most of us are in agreement) that the Chinese invented tea. That was the beginning. :)
But did you also know that, in the beginning, before there were loose tea leaves, there were tea bricks; and these bricks were deemed so valuable that they could be used as currency.
In addition, there is a legend passed down through the ages (for about 5000 years) which credits a Chinese emperor named Shennong with the discovery of how to make a tea infusion. Yah! It seems the emperor was added to an extensive list of discoverers who discovered how stuff works by accident! :)
Fortunately, the rest of the world benefits and we can all enjoy cups of wonderful brewed tea.
♦ Lawrence Jean-Louis published Cool Mix Mingle; a cultural blog mainly about the diversity of the South Florida community - the Hispanic and African influences, the blend of East (Asian) and West (European and North American), the food, art, music and more. The preceding paragraphs above are a brief summary of her post which discusses the evolution of tea. My discovery of her blog was also accidental. But what an awesome find! :)
Author: AnutaVasil The English primarily drank coffee and wine as their staple drink, and tea was unknown in England till as late as 1662. In 1662 Charles II married Catherine of Braganza of Portugal, and it was his new bride who brought with her a preference of tea. She served tea instead of wine, ale and spirit. Tea soon acquired the status of royal drink and a social nicety for the rich.
However, tea's acceptance by British masses was quite slow. It was in late 1700 that tea's popularity picked up. As tea came from British colonies, it came to be viewed as a national drink, with patriotic sentiments attached to it. Another reason which contributed to its popularity was the ease of its preparation technique. While coffee grounds could be brewed only once, and reusing the same ground yielded a much inferior flavour, tea leaves could be brewed several times without any significant drop in the quality of liquor. As tea was a high class drink and hence expensive, the British masses bought second hand, brewed leaves and brewed them longer to compensate. Tea was thus gradually finding place in British everyday life. Soon, tea began to be sold in London coffee houses. Tea was heavily advertised as a medicinal drink which helped maintain health and beauty. The coffee house owners charged heavily for a cup of tea, as much as 6-10 pounds per cup. The government soon imposed various taxes, regulations and restrictions on sale of tea, with a view to cash in on the growing tea trend. This even led to tea being smuggled into England. Finally the taxes were waived off to stop this illegal smuggling. Tea, meanwhile, continued to grow in popularity. Around 1800, there developed an "Afternoon tea" culture, wherein rich ladies invited their friends for a cup of tea in the afternoon. They also served pastries, sandwiches or some snack along with it. It was accompanied by social graces, refined conversation, sweet gossip and polished etiquette. Yet another popular tea trend was serving tea in tea gardens. Pleasure gardens like Vauxhall or Ranelagh Gardens provided lush lawns for public to stroll and enjoy a hot cup of tea. The working class, however, took a break from work in the evening, and relaxed with tea. The most well liked and sought after teas were English breakfast tea and Earl Grey. English breakfast tea, as its name, was consumed mostly in the morning as its strong caffeine helped shake off sleepiness and start the morning energetically. It blended sumptuously with milk and sugar, and could be enjoyed anytime of the day. The Earl Grey provided a classic blend of fine black tea with bergamot essence. It was considered more sophisticated a tea. In 1875, Thomas Lipton aggressively advertised tea. He replaced the coffee gardens in Ceylon with tea plantations, and opened his first tea shop. By the end of 19th century, he had almost set up his Tea Empire and laid the foundations of modern tea trade. The Indian and Ceylon blends, Brooke Bond and Lipton found a firm place in British everyday life. Tea had finally "arrived" in England.
Growing up in America there was only main tea (that I knew of). Lipton. To my late sister's credit, she made great tea! Her hot tea or her iced tea were both dee-licious! However … it was just Lipton tea. The Lipton brand name and company has been around so long that it's practically revered as part of American tradition, I'm not being disrespectful. Don't get me wrong. But I went through my entire childhood and even went several years into my adulthood before I even realized there was something other than Lipton orange pekoe tea! Not just “other than” but even “better than”. Yes! I know! I'm speaking in treasonous language for sure! LOL. Anyway … whereas I can only remember Lipton orange pekoe tea on the store shelves as a child (I can even remember the commercials), these days the grocery store shelves and the company's official website, display a variety of teas. Oh yeah! They have green tea, matcha tea, berry hibiscus, etc. When did this happen and why? I don't know the WHEN but I do know the WHY. When I was a kid, Lipton had hardly any competition. They dominated the market for American tea drinkers. But times have changed and the American taste buds have changed and now we drink a wide range of teas. Our grocery store shelves are loaded with every kind of tea imaginable. If you can't find what you're looking for in the local grocery store, then surely you can find a tea online and/or a video on how to brew your “special cup of tea”... Which brings me the main point of this discussion. CHAI TEA. I only learned about this wonderful drink a few years ago. Come to find out that it's only been around for an eternity.
What happened was that my husband stopped drinking coffee and opted to begin drinking tea instead. That led him on a quest to find a particular tea that he liked and that he believed would contribute positively to his health. One thing led to another and he eventually discovered chai tea. However, being my typical husband, that meant that I couldn't just go to the grocery store and pick up a box labeled “Chai Tea” and bring it home. Oh no! Certain chai tea has this ingredient or that ingredient, and he wants this or that … yadda yadda yadda. He came up with his own chai tea recipe. I'm like: “You made up own recipe? Isn't that like … UN-Indian or something?” It seems it's not. It seems that whoever drinks what they call “chai tea”, Indians or non-Indians, many have their own special recipe for this drink! I found a few YouTube videos for making chai tea. The first video led to the next video and that video led to a bunch of other terrific videos! I searched some of the discussions here at Forum Coin found a couple of interesting comments. * Per @mandeep4687:
“ … "Masala Chai" in India which can be made by adding Indian spices such as elaichi, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, milk, sugar and herbs to your everyday black tea.
Air India national carrier of India wish to introduce Indian traditional food on board to their passengers soon, Now they are offering ... Lunch and Dinner with masala chai(Tea). ...
Traditional Food in Air India flights * * * Are you a tea drinker? Do you have your own chai tea recipe? If not chai tea, do you have your own special tea recipe? Do you prefer your tea sweetened or unsweetened? My Chinese friend used to brew a cup of tea made with popped rice; no sugar. I'm like "You can do that?" One of my daughters just loves hibiscus tea. She always keeps some in her pantry. A few of my other daughters love to experiment with all kinds of herbal teas. All of my daughters prefer sweetened tea. No doubt about it. The wonderful world of teas is fascinating!
Iraani Chai | Sanjeev Kapoor Khazana
Masala Chai (Indian Masala Tea)
Chai Masala Powder - Secret Ingredient of Flavoured and Aromatic Indian Tea | Winter Special
Growing up in America there was only main tea (that I knew of). Lipton. To my late sister's credit, she made great tea! Her hot tea or her iced tea were both dee-licious! However … it was just Lipton tea. The Lipton brand name and company has been around so long that it's practically revered as part of American tradition, I'm not being disrespectful. Don't get me wrong. But I went through my entire childhood and even went several years into my adulthood before I even realized there was something other than Lipton orange pekoe tea! Not just “other than” but even “better than”. Yes! I know! I'm speaking treasonous language for sure! LOL.
Anyway … whereas I can only remember Lipton orange pekoe tea on the store shelves as a child (I can even remember the commercials), these days the grocery store shelves and the [url=https://www.lipton.com/us/en/our-teas.html]company's official website[/url], display a variety of teas. Oh yeah! They have green tea, matcha tea, berry hibiscus, etc.
When did this happen and why? I don't know the WHEN but I do know the WHY. When I was a kid, Lipton had hardly any competition. They dominated the market for American tea drinkers. But times have changed and the American taste buds have changed and now we drink a wide range of teas. Our grocery store shelves are loaded with every kind of tea imaginable. If you can't find what you're looking for in the local grocery store, then surely you can find a tea online and/or a video on how to brew your “special cup of tea”..
Which brings me the main point of this discussion.
[size=150]CHAI TEA.[/size]
I only learned about this wonderful drink a few years ago.
[i]Come to find out that it's only been around for an eternity.[/i]
[attachment=0]chai tea.jpg[/attachment]
What happened was that my husband stopped drinking coffee and opted to begin drinking tea instead. That led him on a quest to find a particular tea that he liked and that he believed would contribute positively to his health. One thing led to another and he eventually discovered chai tea.
However, being my typical husband, that meant that I couldn't just go to grocery store and pick up a box labeled “Chai Tea” and bring it home. Oh no! Certain chai tea has this ingredient or that ingredient, and he wants this or that … yadda yadda yadda. He came up with his own chai tea recipe.
I'm like: [i]“You made up own recipe? Isn't that like … UN-Indian or something?”[/i] :? :lol:
It seems it's not. It seems that whoever drinks what they call “chai tea”, Indians or non-Indians, many have their own special recipe for this drink!
I found a few YouTube videos for making chai tea. The first video led to the next video and that video led to a bunch of other terrific videos!
I searched some of the discussions here at Forum Coin found a couple of interesting comments.
* Per [user]mandeep4687[/user]:
[quote]“ … "Masala Chai" in India which can be made by adding Indian spices such as elaichi, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, milk, sugar and herbs to your everyday black tea.[/quote]
Last Drink You Drank (Daily Thread)
https://forumcoin.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=4750
* Per [user]ksridharprasad[/user]
[quote]Air India national carrier of India wish to introduce Indian traditional food on board to their passengers soon, Now they are offering ... Lunch and Dinner with masala chai(Tea). ...[/quote]
Traditional Food in Air India flights
https://forumcoin.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=10523
* * *
[b]Are you a tea drinker?[/b]
[b]Do you have your own chai tea recipe?[/b]
[b]If not chai tea, do you have your own special tea recipe?[/b]
[b]Do you prefer your tea sweetened or unsweetened?[/b]
My Chinese friend used to brew a cup of tea made with popped rice; no sugar. I'm like [i]"You can do that?"[/i]
One of my daughters just loves hibiscus tea. She always keeps some in her pantry.
A few of my other daughters love to experiment with all kinds of herbal teas.
All of my daughters prefer sweetened tea.
No doubt about it. [i]The wonderful world of teas is fascinating![/i]
[url=http://www.glitter-graphics.com][img]http://dl4.glitter-graphics.net/pub/484/484434weadiltopn.gif[/img][/url]
I was binge-watching a
Turkish television series, set in 19th century Istanbul, and in
one of the scenes, the man offered a drink to the two ladies at the
table with him. Neither lady trusted him but they didn't want to be
rude, so they accepted the cup that he poured. He said that people
should be willing to experiment and try new things and that he wanted
to introduce them both to a new drink he discovered from India. Chai
tea!
As I'm watching the program, I'm going:
“Oh! Oh! Chai tea! I know what that is!!”
My husband is from The Bahamas, but he
needed to stop drinking coffee for health reasons and started trying
different types of teas. In the course of his experimentation, he
discovered chai tea and introduced it to me.
I must say it does have an exotic
flavor. I like it!
~ Any chai tea drinkers out there?
~ Are there different ways you choose
to enjoy this delicious combination of herbs and spices in drink
form?
With good reason too. Not because it has mystical powers. While it is true that this red tea is a recipe that has been used in Africa since ancient times, it is not true that it is a miracle drink that will magically cause the fat to melt the way the wicked witch melted when Dorothy threw water on her in the "Wizard of Oz". It doesn't work like that. But it does work!
Advisory: Before making purchases about products with claimed health benefits, always educate and inform yourself. Seek medical advice or opinion if necessary.
Treathyl Fox aka Cmoneyspinner – Home Business Entrepreneur. Think. Dream. Focus. Believe in yourself? Hire yourself! Be your own boss! Do it! Self-employed and loving it! ♦ DISCLOSURE: In compliance with FTC rules and guidelines, be advised that some links shared via my my websites and blogs might contain affiliate referral links which means commissions might be earned if product sales resulted from your click-through to the vendor’s website.♦Contact or Connect via Twitter,
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