By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Tea lovers were in for a treat this past Wednesday, July 31st as the Needham Council on Aging (COA) welcomed historian Anthony Sammarco to The Center at the Heights (CATH). Seniors eagerly filed in to hear Sammarco present on, “Tea: A Medley of History, Anecdotes and Stories.”
The Needham COA website went on to state that this lecture “is a fascinating look at how tea has been enjoyed over the centuries, from its origins in China and India as the Camellia Sinensis – an evergreen growing primarily in tropical and sub-tropical climates – to its adoption by Britain and its colonies in the eighteenth century as the drink of choice. It was even once part of the Boston Tea Party during the American Revolution.”
To start off this lecture, Sammarco explained what exactly tea is as well as the different varieties it can come in. “Tea is an aromatic beverage” he stated, “prepared by pouring hot water over cured or fresh leaves of camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China. After plain water, tea is said to be the most widely consumed drink in the world. There are many different types of tea, some having a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavor, while others have vastly different profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral or grassy notes.”
As he discussed the origins of tea, he noted that it dates back to almost 5,000 years ago in ancient China. “People in ancient China were to have eaten tea leaves for centuries,” Sammarco mentioned, “perhaps even millennia, before ever consuming it as a beverage. They would nibble on the leaves raw, often adding them to soups or greens, or ferment them and chew it like how betel is chewed. According to legend, in 2732 BC Emperor Shen Nung ‘discovered’ tea when leaves from a wild tree were said to have blown into his pot of boiling water. The rest is history!”
Just as it is a reason one would drink tea today, those back in ancient China would chew on the tea leaves for their excellent source of caffeine. As production grew bigger in size and all over the world, Sammarco discussed how “China is far and away the largest consumer of tea, at least 1.6 billion pounds a year. But per person, the picture is a lot different with Turkey, Ireland and the United Kingdom being home to the world’s largest tea drinkers.”
As the presentation continued, Sammarco went into great detail about the different brands/companies of tea including Twinings, the Mazawattee Tea Company and Lipton. With this, he further explained how expensive it was to obtain tea and how highly it was taxed in Britain during the American Revolution.
All in attendance sat in awe as Sammarco discussed the many different aspects of this beloved drink. One could assume that many were eager to drink some tea after this amazing lecture.
