Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DRINKING BLACK TEA
Although black tea is usually forgiving, there are still right and wrong ways to prepare a
cup. For maximum enjoyment, keep the following points in mind.
Store tea in an airtight container, whether it is loose or in tea bags. It's prone to absorbing
odours, which are especially harmful to some of the delicate blends or flavoured teas.
Use fresh water and boil it (water that's been boiling for a while or which was previously
boiled gives you a flat-tasting cup of tea).
Too accustomed to tea bags? With loose tea, it's one teaspoon per average-sized cup
plus one extra if you're making a pot.
Let the tea brew. It takes three to five minutes for tea to fully release its flavour.
Conversely, once the tea is brewed, toss the tea leaves, whether they were loose or in a
tea bag. Tea leaves quickly get bitter once brewed.
For milk tea, pour the milk into the cup and then add the tea: the flavours mix better.
Tea Workers
Sri Lanka's tea industry is responsible for more than one million jobs - about 5% of the
entire population. Wages for tea pickers remain very low - around US$4 per day. Com-
pulsory pension and funeral payments erode already low wages.
Most families live in seriously substandard housing, barracks-like buildings (known as
'lines') on the fringes of plantations. Few have running water or electricity, and wood and
coal stoves used for cooking and heating causes respiratory diseases.
The vast majority of tea workers are Tamils. Originally the British tea barons intended
to hire Sinhalese workers but the labour was unappealing to the locals, so the plantation
owners looked to India. Huge numbers of Tamils were brought over. Today they remain
one of the most marginalised groups in the nation. Most are landless, classified as 'Indian
Tamils', and disadvantaged by linguistic and cultural differences (including a caste sys-
tem).
After water, tea is the world's most popular drink. More tea is drunk every day than every
other drink - including coffee, soft drinks and alcohol - put together.
