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Background: Tea trees originated in southwest China 60 million or 70 million years ago. Written records show that Chinese ancestors had begun drinking tea over 3000 years ago. Nowadays, with the aging of populations worldwide and more people suffering from non-communicable diseases or poor health, tea beverages have become an inexpensive and fine complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapy. At present, there are 3 billion people who like to drink tea in the world, but few of them actually understand tea, especially on its development process and the spiritual and cultural connotations. Methods: We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, CNKI, and other relevant platforms with the key word "tea", and reviewed and analyzed tea-related literatures and pictures in the past 40 years about tea's history, culture, customs, experimental studies, and markets. Results: China is the hometown of tea, tea trees, tea drinking, and tea culture. China has the oldest wild and planted tea trees in the world, fossil of a tea leaf from 35,400,000 years ago, and abundant tea-related literatures and art works. Moreover, tea may be the first Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) used by Chinese people in ancient times. Tea drinking has many benefits to our physical health via its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immuno-regulatory, anticancer, cardiovascular-protective, anti-diabetic, and anti-obesity activities. At the moment, COVID-19 is wreaking havoc across the globe and causing severe damages to people's health and lives. Tea has anti-COVID-19 functions via the enhancement of the innate immune response and inhibition of viral growth. Besides, drinking tea can allow people to acquire a peaceful, relaxed, refreshed and cheerful enjoyment, and even longevity. According to the meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine, different kinds of tea can activate different meridian systems in the human body. At present, black tea (fermented tea) and green tea (non-fermented tea) are the most popular in the world. Black tea accounts for over 90% of all teas sold in western countries. The world's top-grade black teas include Qi Men black in China, Darjeeling and Assam black tea in India, and Uva black tea in Sri Lanka. However, all top ten famous green teas in the world are produced in China, and Xi Hu Long Jing tea is the most famous among all green teas. More than 700 different kinds of components and 27 mineral elements can be found in tea. Tea polyphenols and theaflavin/thearubigins are considered to be the major bioactive components of black tea and green tea, respectively. Overly strong or overheated tea liquid should be avoided when drinking tea. Conclusions: Today, CAM provides an array of treatment modalities for the health promotion in both developed and developing countries all over the world. Tea drinking, a simple herb-based CAM therapy, has become a popular man-made non-alcoholic beverage widely consumed worldwide, and it can improve the growth of economy as well. Tea can improve our physical and mental health and promote the harmonious development of society through its chemical and cultural elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vine tea is a popular folk tea that has been consumed in China for more than 1200 years. It is often used in ethnic medicine by ethnic groups in southwest China with at least 35 aliases in 10 provinces. In coastal areas, vine tea is mostly used to treat heatstroke, aphtha, aphonia, toothache, etc. In contrast, in the southwest inland regions, vine tea is mostly used to clear away heat and toxic materials, antiphlogosis and relieving sore-throat, lowering blood pressure and lipid levels, and alleviating fatigue. Three main species have been used as the source of vine tea, Nekemias grossedentata , Nekemias cantonensis and Nekemias megalophylla. Among them, the leaves of Nekemias grossedentata were considered as new food resource in complicance with regulations, according to the Food Safety Standards published by the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the National Health and Family Planning Commission in China. At present, the comprehensively summary of Materia Medica on the history and source of vine tea is currently unavailable. The current article summed up the Materia Medica, species origin and pharmacological effects of all 3 major species used in vine tea to fill the knowledge gaps. We also aim to provide a reference for future research on historical textual, resource development and medicinal utilization of vine tea. Adhering to the literature screening methodology outlined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), this review encompasses 148 scholarly research papers from three database, paper ancient books, local chronicles and folklore through field investigations. We then comprehensively summarized and discussed research progresses in scientific and application studies of vine tea. The historical records indicated that vine tea could have been used as early as Southern and Northern Dynasties (AC 420–589). Nekemias grossedentata , Nekemias cantonensis and Nekemias megalophylla , were used to considered as vine tea in the ethnic medicine. The main phytochemicals found in three plants are flavonoids, polyphenols and terpenoids, among which dihydromyricetin (DHM) is the most important and most studied active substance. The key words " Ampelopsis grossedentata " (Synonym of Nekemias grossedentata) and "dihydromyricetin/DHM" showed the highest frequency over the last 27 year based on the research trend analysis. And the ethnopharmacology studies drawn the main activities of vine tea are antioxidant, antibacterial, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective and anti-atherosclerosis activities. This review systematically summarized and discussed vine tea from the following five aspects, history, genetic relationship, phytochemistry, research trend and ethnopharmacology. Vine tea has a long historical usage in Chinese ethnic medicine. Its outstanding therapeutic efficacies have attracted extensive attention in other places in the world at present. Nekemias cantonensis and Nekemias megalophylla are quite similar to Nekemias grossedentata in terms of many aspects. However, the current research has a narrow focus on mainly Nekemias grossedentata and DHM. We propose that future studies could be carried out to determine the synergistic effect of multi-components and multi-targets of vine tea including all 3 species to provide valuable knowledge. [Display omitted] • Vine tea, renowned in China, exhibits an array of pharmacological effects. • Dihydromyricetin (DHM), abundant in vine tea, is a key focus of scientific research. • N. cantonensis, N. megalophylla , and N. grossedentata are identified as vine tea sources. • Promising results in DHM clinical trials warrant further robust investigations. • Future research opportunities lie in the exploration of other bioactive components in vine tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the case of exotic comestibles consumed in the Low Countries to study the problem of continuity versus transformation in early modern consumer behaviour. The paradigm of changing consumer behaviour resulting from the emergence of the market economy has increasingly been rejected by scholars of late medieval and Renaissance material culture. However, an integrated approach that attempts to bridge the conceptual and methodological gap has so far been missing. By examining a large body of discursive sources on the introduction of exotic comestibles in the early modern Low Countries from a fresh theoretical perspective (that of conventions theory), this article proposes a novel reconciliation between the two perspectives on the history of consumption before the Industrial Revolution. The focus on exotic goods also allows for a nuanced perspective on the role of the non-western world in shaping new consumer patterns, and contributing to the great transformation in European economy and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the Chinese Museum developing an excursion and digital incursion revealing the history of tea and the cultural practices. Topics include students having the opportunity for learning about the refined art of preparing and drinking Chinese tea through the exhibition ‘Tea Heaven;' and analysing and corroborating sources and asking questions about the accuracy, usefulness, and reliability.

The field of terrorism research has arguably long been characterized by a separation of the scholars from their subject of inquiry. Interviews can be used to bridge this chasm, but making contact with potential interviewees, conducting interviews, and analyzing the data pose unique challenges when conducting research into jihadists, especially active ones. This article focuses on the author's experience of interviewing both former and active jihadi foreign fighters. It is specifically intended to contribute to a better methodological understanding of conducting first-hand empirical research into jihadi foreign fighters and builds on fieldwork conducted in Sweden, Iraq, and Lebanon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect tea is a special non- Camellia tea produced from the feces of insects in ethnic minority regions in Southwest China. Insect tea was recorded to have the traditional functions to treat summer heat, dampness, digestive disturbance, excessive phlegm, shortness of breath and otitis, etc. This review provides an updated and comprehensive review of insect tea on the tea types, host plants, tea-producing insects, producing process, traditional uses, nutritional values, chemistry, pharmacological activities, biological safety and toxicity. Moreover, the general challenges and the possible suggestions on insect tea in future were also discussed. The relevant literature on insect tea was obtained from scientific database, including Elsevier, PubMed, Springer, Wiley, Web of Science, Google Scholar, SciFinder, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Baidu Scholar, Wanfang Database, etc. In addition, pertinent information available in Ph.D theses, MSc. dissertations, books, records, and some classical Chinese herbal literature were also included. The references cited in this review were up to September 2022. Insect tea has been traditionally used as popular beverage with various medicinal functions in the ethnic minority regions in Southwest China for centuries. At present, ten types of insect teas are recorded in different regions. Ten species tea-producing insect and fifteen species host plants are used to in the production of the tea. Insect teas were rich in various nutrients including proteins, carbohydrates, fat, minerals, dietary fiber and Vitamins. A total of 71 compounds have been isolated from insect teas, mainly including flavonoids, ellagitannins, chlorogenic acids and other phenolic compounds as well as the alkaloids. Modern studies demonstrated that insect tea had a variety of pharmacological activities in vitro and in vivo, such as anti-diabetic, lipid-lowing and anti-hypertensive, hepato-protective, gastro-intestinal promoting, anti-cancer, anti-mutagenic, antioxidant, and anti-aging activity, etc. Moreover, existing experimental results showed that insect teas are non-toxicity and biological safety. Insect tea is a unique and niche product originated in the ethnic minority regions of Southwest China with various health-promoting benefits. Phenolics including flavonoids, ellagitannins, chlorogenic acids were reported as the main chemical constituents identified from insect tea. Multiple pharmacological activities of insect tea have been reported, which indicated that it had great potential for further development and application as drugs and health-promoting products. However, more studies on the tea-producing insects, host plants, chemistry and pharmacological activity of insect tea, as well as the toxicology should be further investigated. [Display omitted] • Insect tea is a special non- Camellia tea in ethnic minority regions in Southwest China. • Insect tea is was recorded to have traditional beneficial functions. • Ten insect species and fifteen plant species are used to produce insect tea. • Insect tea mainly contains phenolic constituents. • Insect tea demonstrated various pharmacological activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field study was conducted to screen the integrated disease management practices against branch canker disease caused by Macrophoma sp. In the present study, screening of four fungicides, two bacterial and fungal biocontrol agents were used at 0.05%. Benomyl with Bacillus sp. (DPS, 5.07 cm) found to be superior to copper oxychloride alone (DPS, 1.03 cm) in controlling branch canker disease. Tebuconazole + Bacillus sp. (DPS, 3.14 cm) and copper oxychloride + Bacillus sp. (DPS, 3.03 cm) excelled well. Botanical fungicide of Expel (5%) (DPS, 2.07 cm) significantly reduces the canker size as compared with other treatments. Trichoderma viride (DPS, 1.27 cm) and Trichoderma harzianum (DPS, 1.30 cm) usage in disease management showed the branch canker disease at very low level. The treatment with Benomyl along with Pseudomonas sp. (DPS, 2.73 cm) and tridemorph + Bacillus sp. (DPS, 2.70 cm) exhibits the reduction in the size of canker followed by copper oxychloride with Pseudomonas sp. (DPS, 2.39 cm) and tridemorph with Pseudomonas sp. (DPS, 2.37 cm). Without the usage of biocontrol, Benomyl (DPS, 4.83 cm), higher values of branch canker disease were observed in the control. Thus, management of the branch canker disease with Benomyl along with bacterial biocontrol of Bacillus sp. found to be very effective (DPS, 5.07 cm). In the case of untreated control, the canker size was increased than the treated plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embossed Lipton Tea tin cans are a ubiquitous form of material culture found on archaeological sites internationally wherever Lipton Tea was sold (the present author is based in Alaska). Many of the tins dating from the first half of the 20th century once exhibited paper labels, which almost never survive archaeologically. I instead purchased tins with paper labels, which provide chronological information, on the internet. These, along with dated magazine and newspaper advertisements spanning from the late 19th to mid 20th centuries, allowed for the development of a scheme to date different embossed Lipton Tea tins through time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, we present 4 cases from our medical practice to increase awareness of the role of sweet tea in obesity and diabetes management. We start with a history of Southern-style "sweet tea" and discuss the importance of screening for beverage intake in the clinical setting. We note the associations between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and weight that we often see in our clinics. Then we discuss resistance to changing a "sweet tea habit." Finally, we sound an alert about the spread of sweet tea to other parts of the country. The cases we present are not atypical for clinical populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The yellow tea falls within one of the six basic categories of tea, ad it is a type of unique and ancient tea in China. Junshan Yinzhen is one of China's Top Ten Tea, and Yueyang City in Hunan Province is the hometown of yellow tea. The yellow tea now has 2 national geographical indication products, 4 national geographica indication trademarks, 1 national geographical indication of agricultural products, and 3 items of provincial intangible cultural heritage. The famous brand of yellow tea is just the brand cultural heritage. This article expounds the current situation of geographical indication and cultural heritage protection, and put forth the corresponding recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the consequences of the tea export trade legislation in India on the Chinese commerce during the 1830s. Topics mentioned include the contracts between the East India Company (EIC) and Hong Merchants, the decreasing sales of teas to Great Britain and the United States at that time, and the revolt of the tea men that followed

Today the drinking of tea, coffee and chocolate is so commonplace among Western civilisations, it is difficult to imagine just how revolutionary these 'hot liquors' were to our forebears in [...]

The essay discusses the seventeenth-century French artisans, merchants, or tradesmen who worked in fields creating hot beverages using coffee, tea, and chocolate. It considers how early treatises on the subject of caffeinated hot beverages were hybrid publications of how-to literature, cosmopolitanism, and pharmacology which were aimed at marketing their newly introduced commodities to French consumers. Notable people considered include authors Philippe Sylvestre Dufour and Nicolas de Blégny, as well as artist Nicolas de Larmessin.

After the national election win of the Liberal National Coalition in March 1996, Australia experienced more than ten years of contentious public debate. Discussions about Australia's history and future raged with an intensity that both highlighted and problematized the very notion of national identity. During this period, the television commercials for tea brand Bushells paralleled changes in Australia's political culture. In various ways, events of epochal significance, both in Australia and abroad, surfaced in the brand's promotions. These campaigns not only showed the increasing difficulty of picturing Australianness; they also showed that, no matter how fragmented Australian culture became, there remained a lingering bias to certain images, ideals and values. As the Australian electorate became more insular, parochial and conservative, Bushells followed suit. This article considers how Bushells drew symbolic markers from popular culture - the worlds of celebrity, sport, cinema and so on - in a bid to remain relevant, endearing and likeable. It therefore shows that, for a commodity as basic as tea, much can be gleaned about the contemporary political mood through the vernacular rhetoric of television advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article critiques representations of tea-drinking in Ireland in early nineteenth-century improvement pamphlets, particularly analyzing the pamphlets "Cottage Dialogues" and "The Landlord’s Friend" by reformer Mary Leadbeater. It comments on the association of tea consumption with excess. Other topics include the drinking of sweetened tea, the idea of Ireland's social backwardness, and the work of English religious writer and philanthropist Hannah More.

The history of the Chinese tea trade is outlined in a brief description of the process, and photographs of the trade during the early 1900s.

The article discusses pu-erh tea, which is post-fermented tea from the tea plant variety Camellia sinensis, and the southwest section of the Silk Road, called the Tea Horse Road. According to the author, the Southwest Silk Road was one of the most important trade routes of the ancient world, promoting well-being through the exchange of medicinal resources, such as pu-erh tea. Topics include the history of pu-erh tea, pu-erh production, and the spread of tea cultivation.

The article examines the history of tea drinking in China, considering how tea and tea drinking became a commonplace in the social life of that country during the so-called Tang period of 618-907 AD. The role of the "Book of Tea," written in approximately 780 AD by Lu Yu, in popularizing tea as a beverage and tea drinking as a social custom is discussed. The book is considered for its adherence to Chinese norms of the period for learning and scholarship. The growth of the number of paintings and poems with tea drinking as subject matter is considered as an indication of how the "Book of Tea" influenced Chinese intellectuals and through them became an accepted part of Chinese popular culture.

The article discusses the history of coffee and tea. The coffee plant, Coffee Arabica comes from a large shrub or small tree. These plants bear berries that are first green then turn red and were discovered as food then as a stimulant by Ethiopians wherein the berries were used as wine like drinks or drank as stimulant. Tea plant, Camellia sinensis is taken as food, beverage or medicine. The Chinese were the first to drink tea according to aboriginal tribesmen who live in hills in China.

Pu’er tea is a variety of fermented tea produced in Yunnan Province, China. The production of Pu’er tea increased significantly during the Qing dynasty. This article explores the history of Pu’er tea by examining: 1) its origin, 2) its cultivation and production, 3) its rising popularity, and 4) its impact and legacy. The author attributes the expanding production of Pu’er tea to the increasing tea trade between Yunnan and Tibet, as well as the relatively simple processing technology. The Qing dynasty saw a surge of Pu’er tea factories and merchants. The article also analyzes the taxation of tea merchants and associated political issues.

This article describes the promotion and consumption of tea in South China, particulaly in Quanzhou, Fujian. Contrary to popular knowledge of tea drinking as an ancient Chinese tradition, tea drinking in Quanzhou today is actually a re-invented tradition. The article shows that the popularity of tea drinking in Quanzhou today came about as a result of promotion by various agents involving tea farmers, tea merchants, and the government in post-Mao China. In addition, Taiwanese tea industry and businesspeople also play important roles in the production and modernization of Anxi tea. The re-invented tradition of tea consumption provides a new way of consuming tea and conducting social relations. The culture of tea consumption in Quanzhou today is shaped by both the forces of post-reform economic development and changing perception of social status and modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the origins of the British tea industry of India from the standpoint of colonial and semicolonial involvement in, respectively, British India and Qing China. The imposition of the tea industry in Assam was integrally tied to the wars in East Asia fought in order to open markets for the movement of opium and other commodities. British officials championed both policies in the name of modern economic progress, liberalizing trade with the Qing and establishing a productive industry in Assam. The agricultural science of political economy aimed to extract the value of various objects which could then be united in a land hitherto considered a wasteland. Plants, soil and labor were each viewed as isolatable things whose values were objective and calculable. Such static representation, however, was already belied by the dynamic process of gathering and transporting these “things” across the vast and unevenly developed regions of Asia, ultimately valorizing them as a breakfast drink commodity enjoyed worldwide. The origins of the Assam tea plantations, mirroring developments elsewhere, relied upon spatio-economic connections that force us to reevaluate how the specific histories of British India, Qing China and Southeast Asia are inseparably linked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an exploration into the social history of yerba mate, a ritualized herbal drink from South America. An overview of the discovery and transmission of the crop throughout Modern history is given from the early encounters with the local beverage in the 16th century, through the colonial era of the 19th century, to the late 20th century. Details are given describing its cultural significance in South America as well as in alternative markets of consumption, such as the Middle East. Analysis is also offered exploring its economic features in global markets.

This paper challenges the prevailing view among economic historians that tea and coffee were luxury articles of consumption prior to the nineteenth century. It reviews an array of available evidence, including national trade statistics and probate inventory studies. In particular, it examines the surprisingly wide social and economic diffusion of tea and coffee drinking among Amsterdam citizens of lower to middling economic status during the period of that city's ascendency and subsequent decline at the centre of global trade networks. Using the distribution of tea and coffee wares of both local and exotic manufacture across households of the artisanal and labouring classes, it seeks to map both the economic reach of the East Indian trade into the poorer parts of the city, as well as to locate the cultural meanings associated with the consumption of these new goods. New data to address this issue have been derived from a substantial collection of after-death inventories drawn up on the estates of middling and poor Amsterdam citizens in the middle decades of the eighteenth century by the Regents of the Municipal Orphanage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the several cultural contexts within which tea and sugar separately, and then tea and sugar together, seem to have had meaning in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Limitations of various interpretive theories; Additional aspects of data analysis; Discussion.