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Tea. What Mrs. Quinn Learned in her Research for 7th Grade Social Studies. Early Legends. Tea leaves from a nearby bush blew into a cauldron of boiling water and Shen Nung drank it. “What a refreshing drink,” he thought. Early Legends.
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Tea What Mrs. Quinn Learned in her Research for 7th Grade Social Studies
Early Legends • Tea leaves from a nearby bush blew into a cauldron of boiling water and Shen Nung drank it. “What a refreshing drink,” he thought.
Early Legends • An Indian prince wanted to pray longer. He chewed tea leaves to stay awake. • My favorite story is how this monk cut off his eyelids to stay awake and a tea shrub grew where the lids landed.
Where Does Tea Come From? • Tea is harvested from tea shrubs. Only the newest leaves at the top of the bush are picked.
Let’s Learn More about Processing Tea! • Check out http://www.stashtea.com/teawhere.htm to find out how tea is created.
Drinking Tea • The Japanese ground tea leaves into a powder, poured boiling water over the powder, and “whisked” the tea. • The Chinese dipped (called “steeping”) tea leaves into hot water to brew tea.
Tea in Literature • Tea was so popular that Lu Yu, a Chinese scholar, wrote a book Ch’a Ching, The Classic of Tea. The book made tea even more popular in the 700s.
The Ch’a Ching • This book included the history of tea. • The book also explained how to properly make tea.
Lu Yu’s Advice about Tea • Tea leaves should only be picked on a clear day. • Twenty-four tools were needed to correctly make tea. If you don’t have all of these tools, don’t make tea. • Water for tea should come from a slow-flowing mountain stream.
Lu Yu’s Advice about Drinking Tea • Sip your tea slowly and quietly. • Three cups of tea are fine, but five cups are too many. • Do not add items such as ginger, orange peels, peppermint, or onions to your tea. • If you must add something to your tea, salt is okay.
The Japanese Tea Ceremony • Eisai was a Zen Buddhist monk who introduced the tea ceremony to Japan in 1191. • He also wrote a book, the Kitcha-Yojoki. (The Book of Tea Sanitation)
Steps of the Japanese Ceremony • The ceremony takes place in the host’s tea room. • In a separate room called the midsuya, the tea utensils are washed and arranged. • The guests wait in a third room, the machiai.
More Steps to the Ceremony • Guests walk a path through a garden (roji) to the tea room. • Guests enter silently through a low door. • Samurais were expected to leave their swords on the rack by the door.
Even More Steps to the Ceremony • Once they entered the tea room, guests would admire the host’s decorations and tea set. • The host greeted the head guest by bowing and offering a sweet candy called kashiki. • Host prepared the tea for guests.
And Even More Steps • After receiving their tea, guests were expected to thank the host. • A good guest always left an empty cup!
Tea: A Favorite Drink in Many Countries • China • Japan • England • Russia • India