Drinks Industry without Farmers and Gardeners

A native of China, tea leaves were delivered around the world in Clipper ships, created the furore at the Boston Tea Party during the American war of independence and still provides badly paid work for workers in India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and China.

The small trees have been grown in China for over 4000 years. They are generally pruned to a low bush to encourage more bud and leaf thus making picking easier. It is the young leaves and buds that are used to make the tea. Black tea, Green tea, Oolong and even White tea are made from the same plant, the difference is in the oxidisation during drying.

Camellia sinesis is related to our floral camellias but it is the leaves not the flowers that they are grown for. The plants grow and produce well even up to 1500 meters in the Himalayan foothills and mountains of south east Asia.

Char ladies made tea for umpteen tea breaks and many a soldier had his Chai to drink from a metal cup. That is nothing to the reverence of the Tea ceremony of Japan and China

Of 90 different species of coffee plant arabica is the most economically important accounting for 70% of world coffee production. Originally from Yemen and Ethiopia the plant was therefore named arabica by Linneaus in 1753.

Coffee trees produce red or purple fruits called “cherries” that contain two seeds, the so-called “coffee beans”. These seeds are then roasted and ground to make our Latte, Americano or Espressos. Brazil, Columbia and Java are now large producers of coffee on trees that can continue to produce for 50 years.

The first coffee houses were recognised as such in Venice in the 17th century but had previously operated in Turkey and Arabia as meeting venues. With the advent of the Starbucks this institution and coffee