Tea Customs & Culture in South Central Asia & IndonesiaTea has been grown on Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi since the 18th century. Dutch settlers who established plantations brought it there. Different regions of Indonesia have different tea drinking cultures. For instance, in Western Java, is served without sugar and is usually offered free of charge in restaurants instead of water because the main tea plantation is in Western Java and the it is cheap. In Central and South Java, the beverage is served with sugar because sugar plantations are in that area and sugar is cheap.
Tea was brought to Myanmar (Burma) by Indian immigrants. Besides drinking tea, the Burmese have a very different way to consume this leaf. They also eat it. It is called laphet or pickled tea. It is served with sesame oil surrounded by other accompaniments such as fried garlic, pickled ginger, peanuts, and dried shrimp. Mixing all of these ingredients together is called laphet salad.
Burma is predominantly Buddhist and tea is the national drink. Most people drink it the Indian way, sweetened with condensed milk. Tea shops exist in virtually every village and city, open from early morning until late at night. They are the social hubs of every neighborhood.
Taiwan produces some of the world’s finest green and oolong teas. It is also where the Wu-Wo Tea Ceremony originated. Grand Master Tsai Rong Tsang of the Lu Yu Tea Culture Institute is the founder of the Wu-Wo Tea Ceremony, which began nearly twenty years ago. Wu-Wo basically translates to empty one’s mind. It is a ceremony where the participants are encouraged to transcend knowledge, appearances and wealth and serve tea to one another in a polite manner.
India is the world’s largest producer of tea. Almost all of the tea consumed in India is black. It’s often blended with masala spices, such as cardamom, clove, and pepper and then mixed with sweetened milk. The offering of tea rather than an alcoholic beverage to guests is the common practice in India.
In Sri Lanka, tea is taken in the British style, with milk; but the milk is always served warm.
In Tibet, the method of making the beverage is called Po cha or cha su mar. Butter, yak milk and salt are added to the brewed tea and then it’s churned to create a hot drink. There are many rules in tea drinking in Tibet. If you are invited for tea, your host will serve you some highland barley wine. You must dip your finger into the wine and flick some away three times. This represents respect for the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The host will fill your cup two more times and on the third time, you must empty the cup or the host will be insulted. After this the host will present butter wine to you.& nbsp; You must finish the glass. The two types of tea that are traditional only in Tibet are butter tea and sweet milk tea.
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