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The history of coffee can be traced at least as early as the 9th century, in the highlands of Ethiopia. From there it spread to Egypt and Yemen,and by the fifteenth century had reached Persia, Egypt, Turkey, and northern Africa.Coffee was at first not well received. In 1511, it was forbidden for its stimulating effect by conservative, orthodox imams at a theological court in Mecca. However, the popularity of the drink led these bans to be overturned in 1524 by an order of the Ottoman Turkish Sultan Selim I. In Cairo, Egypt, a similar ban was instituted in 1532, and the coffeehouses and warehouses containing coffee beans were sacked.From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Europe, where it became popular during the seventeenth century. The Dutch were the first to start the large scale importation of coffee into Europe, and eventually smuggled out some seedlings in 1690, as the Arabs were not allowed to export the plants or unroasted seeds. This led to coffee growing in Java, which was owned by the Dutch.In 1538, Léonard Rauwolf, a German physician, having returned from a ten-year trip to the Near East, gave this description of coffee.
“ A beverage as black as ink, useful against numerous illnesses, particularly those of the stomach. Its consumers take it in the morning, quite frankly, in a porcelain cup that is passed around and from which each one drinks a cupful. It is composed of water and the fruit from a bush called bunnu. ” When coffee reached the American colonies, it was initially not as successful as it had been in Europe, as colonists found it a poor substitute for alcohol. However, during the Revolutionary War, the demand for coffee increased to such an extent that dealers had to hoard their scarce supplies of it and raise prices dramatically; part of this is due to the reduced availability of tea from British merchants. Americans’ taste for coffee grew during the early nineteenth century, following the War of 1812, which had temporarily cut off access to tea imports, and high demand during the American Civil War as well as many advancements in brewing technology cemented the position of coffee as an everyday commodity in America.
TEA:
The cradle of the tea plant is a region that encompasses eastern and southern China, northern Myanmar, and Assam in northeastern India. Spontaneous (wild) growth of the assamica variant is observed in an area ranging from the Indian state of Assam to the Chinese province Yunnan and the northern part of Myanmar. The variant sinensis grows naturally in eastern and southeastern regions of China. Recent studies and occurrence of hybrids of the two types in wider area extending over mentioned regions suggest the place of origin of the Camellia sinensis variant is in an area consisting of the northern part of Myanmar and the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China.
Origins of human use of tea are described in several myths, but it is unknown as to where tea was first created as a drink.In one popular Chinese legend, Shennong, the legendary Emperor of China, inventor of agriculture and Chinese medicine, was on a journey about five thousand years ago. The Emperor, known for his wisdom in the ways of science, believed that the safest way to drink water was by first boiling it. One day he noticed some leaves had fallen into his boiling water. The ever inquisitive and curious monarch took a sip of the brew and was pleasantly surprised by its flavour and its restorative properties. Variant of the legend tells that the emperor tried medical properties of various herbs on himself, some of them poisonous, and found tea works as an antidote.Shennong is also mentioned in Lu Yu’s Cha Jing, famous early work on the subject.A Chinese legend, which spread along with Buddhism, the Indian Bodhidharma is credited with discovery of tea. Bodhidharma, a semi-legendary Buddhist monk, founder of the Chan school of Buddhism, journeyed to China. He became angered because he was falling asleep during meditation, so he cut off his eyelids. Tea bushes sprung from the spot where his eyelids hit the ground. Sometimes, the second story is retold with Gautama Buddha in place of Bodhidharma. In another variant of the first mentioned myth, Gautama Buddha discovered tea when some leaves had fallen into boiling water.Whether or not these legends have any basis in fact, tea has played a significant role in Asian culture for centuries as a staple beverage, a curative, and a symbol of status. It is not surprising its discovery is ascribed to religious or royal origins.The Chinese have enjoyed tea for centuries if not millennia. While historically the origin of tea as a medicinal herb useful for staying awake is unclear, China is considered to have the earliest records of tea drinking, with recorded tea use in its history dating back to the first millennium BC. The Han Dynasty used tea as medicine. The use of tea as a beverage drunk for pleasure on social occasions dates from the Tang Dynasty or earlier.The first historical record documenting the offering of tea to an ancestral god describes a rite in the year 661 in which a tea offering was made to the spirit of King Suro, the founder of the Geumgwan Gaya Kingdom (42-562). Records from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) show that tea offerings were made in Buddhist temples to the spirits of revered monks.The earliest known references to green tea in Japan are in a text written by a Buddhist monk in the 9th century. Tea became a drink of the religious classes in Japan when Japanese priests and envoys sent to China to learn about its culture brought tea to Japan. Ancient recordings indicate the first batch of tea seeds were brought by a priest named Saicho (767-822) in 805 and then by another named Kūkai (774-835) in 806. It became a drink of the royal classes when Emperor Saga, the Japanese emperor, encouraged the growth of tea plants. Seeds were imported from China, and cultivation in Japan began.As the Venetian explorer Marco Polo failed to mention tea in his travel records, it is conjectured that the first Europeans to encounter tea were either Jesuits living in Beijing who attended the court of the last Ming Emperors, or Portuguese explorers visiting Japan in 1560. Russia discovered tea in 1618 after a Ming Emperor of China offered it as a gift to Czar Michael I.
Soon imported tea was introduced to Europe, where it quickly became popular among the wealthy in France and the Netherlands. English use of tea dates from about 1650 and is attributed to Catherine of Braganza (Portuguese princess and queen consort of Charles II of England).

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How to Grow & Harvest Your Own Green Tea Plant

Think it’s hard to produce your own green tea? Think again. Here’s how to grow and harvest your own tea plant.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could grow your own tea leaves at home? Not only would this save money, but you’d also reduce your risk of exposure to pesticides which are often found as contaminants on green tea leaves.

Growing your own green tea plant isn’t as difficult as you might imagine. All of the non herbal teas are derived from the Camellia Sinensis plant. The difference in the taste and content of the teas lies in the way they’re processed after the plant is grown.

You don’t need much room to grow Camellia Sinensis, although you do need patience. The leaves of the plant shouldn’t be plucked to be used until the plant is around three years of age.

Although you can grow the tea plant from the seed, it’s far easier to propagate the plant from cuttings or to buy a nursery tree. You’ll want to plant your tea plant in sandy soil for best results. Your tea plant will do well with the addition of occasional amounts of fertilizer and should be watered frequently when the weather is warm. The addition of mulch will help to reduce weeds and maintain soil moisture which is desirable for the Camellia Sinensis plant.

Once your plant is established, you’ll want to start harvesting and processing your tea leaves. For green tea, it’s important to harvest only the youngest tea leaves and buds. This usually involves plucking the terminal 3 leaves plus the terminal bud. After plucking, allow the leaves to dry away from direct contact with the sun for several hours.

Once the leaves are dry, it’s time to steam or pan heat your green tea leaves. To pan heat the leaves, heat the leaves in a pan to a temperature of around 500 degrees F for 15 minutes while keeping the pan in continuous motion to prevent burning. They can be dried by placing them in an oven at a temperature of no more than 250 degrees F for around 10 minutes. The dried leaves can then be stored until you’re ready to use them. Be sure to store them in a sealable container in a cool, dark place.

You can create different green tea flavors by adding herbs, dried fruits, or edible flowers to your green leaves before steeping them. This method will give you an endless supply of ways to enjoy green tea. Growing your own tea plant to make your own green tea drinks can be quite rewarding. Why not give it a try?

Http://gomestic.com/do-it-yourself/how-to-grow-harvest-your-own-green-tea-plant/#ixzz1UAJsJ3Qz
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How to make a bowl of Matcha (Usucha)
Matcha is green powdered tea. It is uniquely Japanese and is the highest quality tea available in Japan. The tea leaves are picked by hand and are stone ground into a fine powder. For consistency, the leaves from various varieties of tea plants are blended to produce the best flavor, color, and aroma. For more information, click What is Matcha.
Let the matcha come to room temperature and sift through a fine strainer
Using a bamboo tea scoop, place 1 1/2 to 2 teascoops of matcha into the tea bowl; or, measure out a rounded 1/2 teaspoonful. Adjust the amount of matcha to your taste.
Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of hot simmering water. This is a guideline for a typical bowl of tea; amounts can be adjusted to your preference.
Briskly whisk the tea and hot water using a bamboo tea whisk. Begin slowly to dissolve the matcha, then move very briskly back and forth as fast as you can in the middle of the tea bowl. The whisk should be vertical and barely touching the bottom of the bowl. When a soft light foam has developed, slowly lift the whisk from the center of the bowl.
Http://www.matchaandmore.com/howtomake.htm
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The proper kind of tea leaf for making matcha is called tencha. To make tencha, a few weeks before harvesting the tea leaf bushes are covered with mats or tarps to keep them out of direct sunlight. The bushes respond to this by growing more slowly, producing amino acids (which make the tea sweeter tasting) and darkening their leaves. Leaves are harvested and dried flat (traditionally in indirect sunlight, but commonly dried indoors).
The tencha is then de-stemmed, de-veined and ground (higher quality matcha is stone ground, lower quality is machine ground). This is matcha.
Http://www.ehow.com/about_5040787_matcha.html#ixzz1UASYh2lS

GardenersCardiff answers:

Mary jane

GardenersCardiff answers:

Hi tt!

If you make your own tea, you’re going to have a blast! I’ve done it, and it’s so much fun! You can create teas (even more than one kind) that you’ll love, and your friends will love them, too. Could I offer you a couple of suggestions? Keep a pencil and paper handy to write down what herbs you’ve added and how much of each herb. Once you get started, it can get confusing about what you put in it — trust me! The other suggestion is to start out with an easy tea. I started with chamomile, which is a very pleasant tea that relaxes you. It’s easy to make, and I learned things that helped me with more complicated teas.

There are LOTS of websites that offer excellent advice about how to create your own tea and even put the teas into teabags if you want. The tea (or teabags) make fantastic stocking gifts at Christmas for friends and family! It’s always nice to give something homemade.

You can buy herbs at health food stores or online. Lots of places sell them. Go to http://www.google.com and put “where to buy herbs” into their search engine, or look in your Yellow Pages.

Anyway, here are the links to the websites. It seems like a lot, but what one site doesn’t teach you, another site will, and it’s good to have as much information as you can find.

Http://www.farmersalmanac.com/food/2007/09/01/make-your-own-tea/

http://herbgardens.about.com/od/herbrecipes/a/HerbTeas.htm

http://doit101.com/Foodrink/Teablends.html

http://www.howtodothings.com/health-and-fitness/a3303-how-to-make-herbal-tea.html

http://coffeetea.about.com/cs/herbaltea/a/growingherbs.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_4904701_own-herb-tea-bags.html

http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/grow-your-own-tea/index.html

http://herbs.lovetoknow.com/Recipes_for_Your_Own_Herbal_Teas

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Have a great time, and good luck!

GardenersCardiff answers:

That’s deep & beautiful. I loved music too when I was growing up it’s comforting to know someone else out there feels your pain & you’re not alone.

If you don’t rap, maybe you should think about poetry? You can sell & publish your writings with your own copyright.

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I hope you’re kidding