Australians need to slow down the way they prepare and drink tea, and take the time to discover the stories behind each brew, to find a greater appreciation of the beverage, according to one of the nation's leading tea experts.
"Tea is a 'slow food' and what I find most interesting of all when we talk about getting tea into different markets or demographics is that environment — it has to be conducive to tea drinking," he said. "If it's an oolong and you have a Chinese tea maker up for three months, barely sleeping, testing his ferment and his oxidation of his tea, that's not something that transcends immediately."The big problem with slow foods is that they do not mix well with fast lives.
"It's not to say you can't order a takeaway tea from a cafe, but I don't think most people regard that as bang for your buck or getting a sample of something that's interesting." Mr Thirlwall's passion for tea and its health and wellbeing benefits started 20 years ago when he travelled to China to work as a tour guide and quickly became fascinated by the hundreds of tea farms he visited.
Source: Education Headlines (educationheadlines.net)
I’ve seen it all now.
Absolutely brilliant. Gotta get away from guzzling tea bag tea & instant coffee. Confession: I drink blend 43 by the bucket.
Tea is awesome however it actually contains more caffeine than coffee
I grew up in London (in the 50's) & Sunday was formal high-tea time. Lovely tea sets, proper tea leaves, no bags then, starched table cloth, gorgeous home made cake & we used to put on fresh clothes. I have an old photo somewhere, a teapot/cups & saucers of mum's. Great memories.