06.20.07
the future of tea: is this really what we have to look forward to?
posted by Sandy M. Bushberg | 12 comments
It used to be that the only way to have a nice cup of tea was to cut out a block of time to heat up the water, steep the leaves and sit down and focus on the simple pleasure of enjoying that cup of tea. It seems we humans are never content at leaving well enough alone.
In this fast paced world of advanced technology and instant information, we apparently no longer have or want to set aside some time to enjoy a peaceful cup of tea. It seems that we are destined to reify all of those science fiction books and movies that have us reducing all of life’s previous pleasures to a push of a button or the popping of a pill.
In their, at times, dubious wisdom scientists at the distinguished Tocklai Research facility in India have just patented a tea pill. They are convinced that they have created “…a tea pill that can be chewed or sucked and having the same refreshing effect like a steaming hot cup of tea.” I may be old fashioned, but I think I will stick with the simple pleasures that making myself a Yixing pot full of my favorite teas brings to my day. How about you?
June 20th, 2007 at 7:14 am
Come what may, Tea will remain tea and nothing will change atleast till we live. There was a time when market was prophesied to be ommited due to internet, but it turned out to be a social activity without which man can not live, Tea is same.
Man can not live without tea.
Future of tea is that more and more single estate artisan tea drinking will increase, getting a handsome shift from all the other beverages, hard and soft, warm and cold or anything else.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:56 am
I concur with both Sandy and Rajiv!! Look at all around you now. There is a striving for a simpler, more complete way to cope with the frantic, hurried life styles, that have actually be speeding up, not giving much time for relaxing, and inner reflection. Why not start this process with a good cup of relaxing delicious Tea. So I would say it is our mission (us few and growing) to spread the benefits of our craft, and the wonderful products it contains, and help people reflect back to a simpler time with a simple enjoyment. TEA!! made the old fashion way…..PJF
June 20th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Actually, I say let the scientists do their thing. If they (funded no doubt by someone ready willing and able to manufacture the pill) can actually distill the beneficial chemical compounds of tea into a pill that has bonafide health benefits, we should rally behind them. There’s also no reason why scientists cannot be funded to report on the adjunct health benefits afforded a test group who are required to steep their tea and spend some focused energy tuning into their sensory experiences.
June 20th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Philosophically I agree with you Eric. The problem however lies in some potential health issues. People are interesting creatures. If one pill is said to be good for them, why not take 2 or 3? There is some early evidence that too much EGCG can create problems. Mother nature took that into account with her simple yet elegant tea leaf…..basically it would be almost impossible to drink too much tea. It’s much like water. In theory, too much water isn’t healthy but it would be very hard to over dose on too much water……who can drink so much of it ?……..but in theory, one can. I’ve watched people do it with herbs and vitamins……why not tea pills?
I believe in leaving nature alone, when ever possible. I think it’s very possible with TEA.
June 20th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I agree Eric, to a point. I am a big science buff and love technology and scientific advancement. The only problem I have is that, almost by definition, scientific research is very reductionistic and in that sense can also be very narrow in its perspective. As you will read in greater detail in a post I will be publishing on the site soon, this reductionistic tendency translates, with medicinal compounds, into very concentrated and powerful products just like with pharmaceuticals. As a result, we begin to see natural products that normally have healing properties without side effects suddenly begin to produce at best uncomfortable side effects but at worst toxic effects. On top of that you have the issue that Michelle has mentioned of our mindset that if a little is good then a lot must be even better. That will lead to people taking in much larger doses of these concentrated extracts than they normally would or could when consuming them in their natural forms. So the potential here could be very beneficial as well as very harmful. Caveat Emptor! Cogito Emptor!
June 20th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
The organic production or natural production movement clearly defines the trends in offing.
Tea is no exception.
Extracts, pills, concentrates etc etc will never ever substitute for natural tea drunk in the way we like best.
Pills are ok for moongoers in the rockets where there is dearth of space. But not atleast in our lives.
June 20th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Well, Hasn’t this turned into an interesting discourse. I turn your attention to the latest edition of the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal’s “Tea Special” page 38 on “Black Teas Back to Origins” and how an over oxidized product made it’s way to Europe from Fujian towards the end of the 16th century. Look at how the Japanese took the Chinese Tea Ceremony, and turn it into beautiful art form.
The History, and the Mental, Emotional rewards that come from the proper respect, and usage of this gift from Mother Nature. To be swept away by a pill for hurry-up health benefits ??
I think not!! Just the musings of an old man…..PJF
June 21st, 2007 at 2:18 am
Have faith in the children, who will be enjoying tea for the next 100 years, or more. In my daily interactions with kids, I find them craving rest, reflection, ritual. For most, having the whole family sit together at a meal is signal of a holiday, a celebration, not a regular reaffirmation of those ties that bind. Often I find myself looking up from my deep inhalation of the luscious vapor of a cup of fresh oolong, and seeing, through my steamed lenses, the fresh faces of kids. Invariably they exclaim, “I so want a cup of tea right now!” The kids are running from the mundanity of the overstimulated lives they lead. (Oxymoron intended.) They won’t be settling for a pill when they can have the real thing!
If those science wizards want to do society a favor, why don’t they scratch their pointy heads for something we REALLY need, like a stress-free method oc cleaning venetian blinds?
June 21st, 2007 at 8:51 am
Ah a tea pill! This is what i guess some people must have exclaimed - but as far as i think - tea is a term related with culture, tradition, holiness, social gatherings.
The english have the afternoon tea, the japanese have the formal and serene tea ceremony, chinese have tea ceremonies which show and educates people on tradional brewing methods, indians have the typical chai blends, the arab culture does it for gatherings - is a tea pill going to replace all this ??
Tea is a divine drink that is drunk by those who know the value of it and they very well respect it with their lives. Devotion, concenration, discipline is what comes through tea - it is a gross mistake to compare a tea pill with such a respected and loved culture of diffrent ways of making our fine tea. A tea pill would be a utter waste of some fine tea through incompetent manipulation.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:59 am
I agree on the fact that tea is much better drunk when it’s in its natural state, not in some type of little ball or pill. Those types of things should only be taken when you don’t have the time to get yourself a REAL cup of tea.
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:52 am
Well, this discussion has been going on for a little while now and it seems clear that nobody here believes that tea is going to be replaced by a pill. Ankit, you are perfectly right (IMHO) in your belief that tea and its culture won’t be superseded by a pill and Rajiv, your hinting on the trend towards organic and artisan teas also confirms what we all believe.
BUT:
The real issue doesn’t seem to be the migration of (already converted or culturally formed) tea drinkers to “THE PILL” but the increasing group of people who aren’t really after tea but just after its reported health benefits. They don’t care whether they are holding a steaming cup of fragrant oolong in their hands, they just want “the bang”.
Let me give you an example to illustrate my point. We have gotten quite a few inquiries about oolong in the past month. Initially, I was quite happy since there aren’t too many people here in New Zealand that have even heard of oolong before. It became clear quite quickly, though, that these individuals weren’t really after a rare or beautiful oolong, but had heard about the (almost magical sounding) slimming properties of this tea. In short, they don’t care what it tastes like (maybe they would even prefer a tea of low quality because its more medicinal flavor?), as long as they get the effect. This is the PERFECT target group for tea pills!
Of course, we’re trying to educate as much as possible in our teahouse (as I’m sure most readers and contributors of this blog do) and there are few more satisfying moments than initiating someone new to tea to a really nice cup of our favorite drink. But there are many, many people out there that will happily eliminate the “inconvenience” of brewing a pot of tea by swallowing a pill. That’s why I believe that Michelle’s and Sandy’s concerns about the “abuse” of natural medicines is quite relevant.
Well, I think I should go and have a nice cup of Baozhong now…
June 24th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Now that I have given it more thought, I am thinking that maybe even chewing on a tea tablet might be too much work. I think I will patent a tea transdermal patch that people can just stick on their necks or uppper arm and have all of the tea constituents absorbed into their blood stream with no effort at all. Why bother with all the extra work involved in having to chew or suck on a tablet when you can just have it infused directly into your blood stream without even giving it a thought. Ahh, ain’t technology grand.