So the stress of the morning commute and the cold weather is giving you the blues and making you a little anxious. Take a moment and a deep breath, and according to an article by Helen Saberi in Tea a Global History, “English grandmothers say, a good cuppa tea puts the world to right”.
Tea has been around for thousands of years “nearly 5000 years….”, actually. “It was discovered in 2737 BC by Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung, known as the ‘Divine Healer,’ when as legend goes, some tea leaves accidentally blew into the Emperor’s pot of boiling water”, states the web site for the Tea Association of the United States of America (2011). In recent years, well last century, the United States has brought about significant innovations in the marketing of tea. It is said that Thomas Sullivan a New York tea merchant invented the tea bag and iced tea in 1904.
Though, many would believe that coffee would have a higher popularity than tea, this would be false. Tea is actually the second most popular beverage, second to only water (Saberi,). In fact almost half of Americans drink tea and some consider tea to be part of a healthy lifestyle and even green, or well environmentally friendly. Tea consumption would seem to be on the rise as tea takes over shelf space at supermarkets. Tea seems to be everywhere and no longer confined only to the coffee aisle. If you decide to look for tea at your local supermarket you are likely to find it with several products such as:
· Soda
· Water
· Ethnic foods
· Over the counter medication
· In beauty products
· Candy
· Even at the liquor store
It is easy enough to find a good selection of different teas at Shaws, Harvest Market and Market Basket. But if you are looking to try something out of the ordinary you may want to try The Cozy Tea Cart in Brookline, New Hampshire; one of the more than 2400 specialty tea rooms and retail stores that have popped up in small and large cities alike across the US.
The proprietor of The Cozy Tea Cart, Danielle Baudette, is a wealth of knowledge having completed all “levels of the US Specialty Tea Institutes certification programs that are currently offered.”(The Cozy Tea Cart, 2004-2011) Danielle offers her expertise not only in the exceptional quality of her teas but through a variety of events, classes and tastings to the community of Brookline and surrounding area.
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