Tea can safely be regarded as a global beverage because of how it’s frequently consumed in every part of the world. This beverage has a lot more significance during occasions like the holidays. Here are three holiday tea traditions you should know about.

Traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony

Chinese people were among the first ones to discover the concept of tea leaves being boiled into incredibly delicious beverages more than 5000 years ago. These people observed how Camellia sinensis could be turned into a nutrient-rich tea that can refresh a person’s mind and body. This discovery eventually became incredibly popular over the coming centuries and became the primary source of a wide range of celebrations and traditions in almost every part of the world.

However, the Chinese embraced this tea in their unique and incredibly wholesome way. If you’re fond of the Chinese culture, you may have heard about the highly popular Chinese tea ceremony. While there are several occasions in China to conduct this ceremony, most people participate in it on the day of the Lunar New Year. Today, it’s one of the most popular family traditions in China.

The two focal points of the Chinese tea ceremony are gratitude and respect for their history and culture. The most important aspect of this ceremony is the use of teapots crafted with a special clay. These teapots are used for multiple years without being washed ever. This allows the tea flavor and oils to be absorbed into the clay and enhance the tea’s flavor every time a fresh brew is poured into it.

The first step of the ceremony involves pouring loose leaf tea into the teapots and adding some boiling water to them after it. This process is repeated multiple times until the tea oils are completely infused into the teapots.

The tea server then kneels in front of the honoree of the ceremony, which is followed by a sip of tea taken by everyone in the ceremony.  

English and American Tea Traditions

Holiday celebrations and traditions in England only consisted of drinking ale and wine, especially before the early 1800s. However, tea discovery led to a counter-movement, aiming to normalize the incorporation of tea in England’s holiday traditions. This includes highly formal and sophisticated tea parties that consist of freshly brewed tea paired with festive cuisines and comforting snacks for people of all ages to enjoy and celebrate the holidays with.

One holiday tea widely consumed in the English culture is spiced tea made with spices and black tea, also known as wassail in Europe. One can think of it as an English version of Germale ale. The authentic tea tradition during the holidays in England includes drinking wassail while singing Christmas carols. Wassail during this time included spices like orange peel, ginger, and cinnamon.

Some of the popular snacks served with this tea include honey candies, egg whites, sugar cookies, and nutmeg biscuits.

Tea Feast for the Russians

Russia also has an incredibly rich culture when it comes to celebrating the holidays with tea. If there’s one thing to know about Russia, it’s that it’s extremely cold during the time of the holidays. According to Russian history, its Orthodox Church started including tea in its annual Christmas feast during the holidays.

This tradition involves toasting Kissel with friends and family and following it with a sip of warm tea to keep themselves warm during extreme climates. This practice varies based on people’s status in Russian society. For instance, the rich source their holiday tea directly from China in the form of black tea. Similarly, the poor chose herbal teas according to their affordability.

Tea traditions also thrive among the Jews in Russia, especially during Hanukkah.

Tea undoubtedly has an extremely exciting and fascinatingly rich history and all the traditions that come with it. An excellent way to practice these traditions while adopting healthy life practices is by consuming herbal teas like the Agaricus Blazei mushroom tea because of its health benefits. If you’re looking to purchase loose-leaf Agaricus blazei tea with all its fruiting bodies, feel free to check out our products at ABM-Tea.

At ABM-Tea, we use our research and extensive experience in tea production to provide you with organic Agaricus blazei mushroom tea. Each granule of this tea consists of a wide range of health and therapeutic benefits that make healthy living easy and comforting. Our products are made with 100% fruiting bodies, serving as a natural immune booster. You can always resort to it to consume it as a  traditional medicinal health food or even as a natural remedy after chemotherapy, for leukemia, and more. Feel free to order yourself a pack of Agaricus blazei tea by visiting our store or contact us to learn more today!