Every year, all countries holding the status of the world’s leading tea producers celebrate International Tea Day (International Day) is a holiday of one of the oldest and healthiest drinks on Earth.
The purpose of the Day is to draw the attention of governments and citizens to the problems of tea sales, the relationship between tea sales and the situation of tea workers, small producers and consumers. And, of course, the popularization of this drink.
The decision to celebrate International Tea Day on December 15 was made after repeated discussions in many international organizations and trade unions, during the World Social Forum, held in 2004 in Mumbai (Mumbai, India) and in 2005 in Port Allegra ( Porte Allegre, Brazil). It was on this day that the World Declaration of the Rights of Tea Workers was adopted in 1773.
Accordingly, International Tea Day is mainly celebrated by countries in whose economy the article on tea production occupies one of the main places – India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Uganda, Tanzania.
The World Trade Organization’s international trade policy assumes that producing countries will open their borders to trade. The commodity price of tea has been steadily declining in all countries, along with a lack of clarity in setting the price of tea.
Overproduction is observed in the tea industry, but this phenomenon is controlled as profits are pumped over to global brands. Global brands are able to buy tea at the lowest prices, while the tea industry is undergoing massive restructuring everywhere. It manifests itself in disintegration and disunity at the tea plantation level and consolidation at the brand level.
It is believed that tea as a drink was discovered by the second emperor of China, Shen Nung, around 2737 BC, when the emperor dipped tea tree leaves into a cup of hot water. Is it possible to imagine that now we are drinking the same tea that the Chinese emperor also tasted almost 5 thousand years ago!
In 400-600 AD. In China, interest in tea as a medicinal drink is growing, and therefore the processes of tea cultivation are developing. In Europe and Russia, tea became known from the first half of the 17th century. And one of the most famous events in modern tea history is that that happened in 1773, when American colonists threw boxes of tea into Boston Harbor in protest against the UK tea tax.
Today, many tea lovers, in addition to “brewing”, add various herbs, onions, ginger, spices or orange slices to their favorite drink. Some peoples brew tea with milk … Many countries have their own traditions of tea drinking, but one thing is invariably – tea continues to be one of the most beloved drinks on the planet.
The holiday, although not yet official, is widely celebrated by some countries (but, mainly, these are Asian countries). In Russia, it is celebrated recently and not yet everywhere – so, in different cities, various exhibitions, master classes, seminars, advertising campaigns dedicated to the topic of tea and its correct use are timed to this day.