January is National Hot Tea Month, and to celebrate, we at Neatorama invite you to brew a cup of your favorite variety and curl up for some good old fashioned facts about one of the most popular beverages in the world -- second to only water. Before we begin though, let’s make one thing clear; herbal teas (including South African red teas) are not real teas because they are not made from the Camellia sinensis a.k.a. the tea plant -- sorry chamomile fans.
While there really is no consensus on exactly where the earliest tea plants were grown in Asia and how people got the idea to drink it, there are a number of myths concerning how tea originated and why people started drinking it. One story says that a Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma, the founder of Chan Buddhism, was meditating for nine years, at which point, he fell asleep. The story says he was so upset that he cut off his own eyelids, which took root and grew into the first tea plants. Other versions of the story say that Buddha himself was the one who cut his eye lids off and started the first tea plants. The story of how tea was first consumed says that Emperor Shennong was drinking a bowl of water when leaves from the plant blew into his water. He tried the concoction and was quite happy with the drink’s flavor. Another story says that Shennong was testing the medicinal properties of different herbs and when he discovered an herb was poisonous, he used tea for an antidote.
While the history of the plants and how they started to be consumed as beverages are the stuff of legends, there are certainly a few well documented facts about the brew’s history. The oldest known still cultivated tea plant grows in the Yunnan Province in China, it is estimated to be over 3,200 years old. Records of China’s tea consumption go back all the way to 10th century BC. At one point, bricks of tea were actually used as currency in the realm, particularly in areas that were very rural and devoid of coin currency.
Chinese Buddhist monks introduced the drink to Japan, where it quickly became a favored drink of royalty. Within no time, seeds were imported into the country and cultivation began. Centuries later, tea ceremonies were introduced by Buddhist monks as well, where they slowly evolved into the highly formal tea ceremonies that Japan is known for today. In the sixteenth century, the tea ceremonies played a big role in feudal diplomacy.
Tea wasn’t introduced into Europe until the 17th century, when it was first brought to Amsterdam. Around this period it was introduced to France and Russia where it was quickly made popular in both countries. It’s introduction into English society was perhaps the place that it had the biggest impact though. By 1750, tea became the national drink of Britain. Unfortunately, Britain developed a need for Chinese goods, but China largely had no use for English goods. For a while, England sent out silver bullion, but it wasn’t long before they began trading opium (grown in India and still illegal in China) for tea. Thus, tea played a major role in the Opium Wars and the treaty for the war actually required the Chinese ship tea to England in exchange for the drug.
At the same time, the Brits decided that they needed to stop being dependant on the Chinese for their supply of tea, so they hired Scottish botanist Robert Fortune to steal a tea plant from China and then cultivate it in India. The plants fared well in this new environment and now India is one of the biggest producers of the plant. Image via Okinawa Soba [Flickr]
Most people prefer to make tea from tea bags, but tea purists consider the tea from the bags to be far inferior to loose-leaf tea. Part of the reason is that the small bits of leaves used are often just the waste products left behind from loose-leaf tea. Another problem is that more of the leaf’s surface is in contact with the air, allowing it to lose flavor faster. Some people also claim they can taste the flavor of the bag when they drink it this way. Others claim that tea bags are too small to allow the tea to properly diffuse in the water, which is why Lipton released their line of Pyramid Teas to counteract these problems, but many tea aficionados still don’t like them for the other reasons listed above. Image by Wikipedia user Andre Karwath.
As I said before, real tea is only made from the Camellia sinensis, which means that red tea and other herbal teas don’t make the cut. Even then though, there are still six different varieties of tea, each created by a different processing method. The tea plant’s leaves wilt and oxidize very quickly after it is picked, and each type of tea is made through drying the leaves at a different point of the leaf’s cycle. White tea is wilted and unoxidized. Green tea is unwilted and unoxidized. Yellow tea is unwilted and unoxidized, but allowed to yellow. Oolong tea is wilted, bruised and then partially oxidized. Black tea is wilted and fully oxidized. Post-fermented tea is created by allowing green tea to ferment, it is largely reserved for medicinal purposes and not casual drinking. There's a cool visualization of the process here.
While each type of tea naturally has its own distinct flavor, most teas you buy at the store have their own flavoring made by mixing different blends together or by adding other flavors to the mix. Some of the more popular tea flavors include:
Source Image by Wikipedia user lateasquirrel.
Tea contains a number of different antioxidants, one of which, catechins, actually makes up 30% of its weight. This antioxidant can help fight tumors. White and green teas contain the most antioxidants. On the other end of the spectrum, black tea has the most caffeine. Caffeine makes up about 3% of black tea’s dry weight, more than even coffee. The reason coffee gives you more of a buzz when you drink it though is that it’s less diluted than tea.
Tea also has fluorine, which prevents dental decay. Studies have shown that tea can help normalize your blood pressure, lower your stress levels, prevent heart disease, reduce depression and prevent diabetes. It also has germicidal properties that help you prevent sickness(which shows just how terrible my immune system is, given that I drink tea daily and still get sick all the time). A study released last year showed that white tea can boost your metabolism, reduce fat cells and help you lose weight. Another study that came out last year showed that drinking tea daily can reduce your chances of having a stroke by as much as 21%.
The tea plant grows year-round and though it prefers tropical and sub-tropical climates, it has survived as far north as England. Only the top one to two inches of a mature plant are used for tea. These parts of the plant are called flushes and the plant grows a new flush every week or so during growing season. The Chinese believe that a higher elevation makes for better tea plants because the plants grow slower, allowing the buds to become more flavorful. The evergreen plants are sort of like poinsettias, in that those that aren’t properly cultivated will naturally grow into a tree. Image by Wikipedia user Dave Oceano.
Most animals don’t like being dressed up in human clothes, but we love to make them do it anyway –after all, it is absolutely adorable. Of course, some animals love it. My own dog seems to get a little strut in his step when he wears one of his cute little tee shirts –he isn’t a big fan of rain coats though. Of the handful of critters that seem to enjoy playing dress up, an even smaller group has actually enjoyed a relative amount of success from their imitation of human clothing. In honor of National Dress Up Your Pet Day, we at Neatorama celebrate the few, the brave, the clothed.
While most pets who agree to wear costumes tend to be dogs, the animals that have become best known for their clothing antics are a variety of species. One of the best known costumed animals is Sugar Bush Squirrel, whose owner, Kelly Foxton, started making her tiny little outfits and photographing her in wonderfully elaborate settings. Foxton soon started adding the images to a website, where Sugar Bush developed a huge cult following. Since then, the little critter was featured in a number of advertisements and has been the subject of a documentary. Sugar Bush even holds the unofficial title of World’s Most Photographed Squirrel --someone call Guinness quick! Source Sugar Bush Squirrel Website, Sugar Bush Squirrel The Movie Image Via Sugar Bush website.
Of course, some animals are costumed out of necessity. If it weren’t for Keyboard Cat’s stylish garb, you would be able to see his owner’s hands manipulating him to play the piano. It’s just not the same getting “played off” by a Keyboard Cat who doesn’t appear to be doing the work himself. There are over 4,000 videos of Keyboard Cat playing someone off these days, but the original was done by Brad O'Farrell who actually got permission from the film’s original owners for both his clip and anyone who followed in his remashing footsteps. It should be noted that this meme, which exploded last year was actually filmed back in 1984. Since then, “Fatso,” as he was known by his close family, has passed. Let’s pay our respects to this beloved kitty icon by enjoying Keyboard Cat play off a Glen Beck guest as he passes out. A moment of silence while you watch, please.
Source Wikipedia
Pankun is another star of internet videos you may recognize. He is the Japanese chimp often paired up with a bulldog named James and then asked to do simple human tasks. Best of all, Pankun is usually dressed in human clothing while he does sit ups, buys birthday cakes and rides Segways. In some ways, he's the Japanese, reality-television version of the old Lancelot Link show. He now lives in a Japanese zoo called Cuddly Dominion, where he and James put on live acts. His current show casts him as an astronaut that has landed on the planet Inusaru. Here's an old Pankun clip where the chimp gets a birthday cake, which is stolen by a hawk. Fortunately, he recovers the cake and brings it home in time for his party, where a good time is had by all.
Source Wikipedia, Cuddly Dominion
Speaking of Japanese animal celebrities, frequent Neatorama readers are also sure to remember Tama the Station Cat. Tama’s story started when the Wakayama Electric Railway decided to unman all of their stations and hire only one person at each stop to serve as the station master. At Kishi station, a neighborhood grocer named Toshiko Koyama was named as the station master. Koyama had adopted a number of stray cats, feeding them at the station. In 2007, the company opted to name one of the strays, Tama, as the official station master. In lieu of pay, Tama has been rewarded with free cat food, and a cool hat. Tama’s success actually helped increased traffic to the area and brought 1.1 billion Yen to the local economy. As a result, the company promoted her to “super station manager,” and she is now the only female manager in the company. She now has two feline assistant station masters at her disposal. As an extra honor, the governor of Wakayama has provided her with a medallion representing her honorary knighthood. Source Wikipedia, Japan Probe Image Via Wikipedia user Takobou
I wrote about Mr. Winkle before in the famous shelter dogs article. He is a unique mix that looks somewhat teddy bearish. While he started out on the streets, his adopted owner, magazine photographer Lara Jo Regan, has given him everything a pup could ever dream of, including his own internet site and web television show. Mr. Winkle’s been featured on Sex and The City and a number of news programs. As for his costume work, there’s plenty of dress up photos available on his site. You can even buy books and calendars of his pin up works. Source Mr. Winkle Website, Wikipedia Image Via Mr. Winkle's site.
Oscar is the one animal on this list that is known for being totally naked. While she may look cute dancing and singing, her hard life makes her an inspirational tale of overcoming hardships. In her early years, Oscar actually was rescued from a crack house by police officers. After suffering from both a beak and feather disease, she completely lost all of her feathers, even after she was nursed back to health by the Humane Society. At the time, vets gave her only six months to live --over 13 years ago. Since then, Oscar was adopted by Cherie Wachter, who takes great care of her and has been known to post naked videos of the little bird all over the internet. Oscar’s feathers may never grow back, but her brave spirit has never dwindled. Source DListed, Huffington Post Image by Barry Bland via The Sun. Well readers, now it’s your turn. Any of you know any famous dressed up animals not mentioned here or care to share some of your favorite costumed pet pics?
