How about a cup of tea or a cup of coffee?

Time…. How time flies, and there is no time left for a good cup of warm relaxing cup of tea with friends and family members. We rush towards highly paid jobs, strong positions at work, better cars, cellphones and etc.; so what do we need to get that? — Coffee. But that is all temporarily and passing by. All what we really need is some rest and a break from the race with time and up-to-date technologies. I think that today we pay less and less attention and respect to traditions we have or we might like to borrow from other cultures. For example, let`s have a look at tea — a very simple and ancient drink people have known for ages, but what do we really know about it? And what do we know about people who drink it? There are different cultures and different ways and means to have a cup of tea. In my country we are fond of drinking tea and we never refuse to have a good cup of tea with friends sitting around a “Samovar” or this device is better known as a “self-boiler” [1] with some homemade cakes and candies. It is a tradition of some sort, like in Japan, better known as the “Tea Ceremony”, it falls into two types: an informal tea gathering “chakai” (茶会) and a formal tea gathering “chaji” (茶事). A “chakai” is a relatively simple course of hospitality that includes confections, thin tea, and perhaps a light meal. A “chaji” is a much more formal gathering, usually including a full-course “kaiseki” meal followed by confections, thick tea, and thin tea. A “chaji” can last up to four hours.

I may suggest that each country has its own tea ceremony, and each ceremony has its time, like in: England people like to have tea at five o`clock, better known as the “afternoon tea with milk” — as a light meal typically eaten between four and six PM. The custom originated in the wealthy classes in England in the 1840s, applied in order to fight against overwhelming drinking problem.[2][3][7]; in Asian countries, China for example, people tend to follow ancient traditions and respect all the ancient rituals following the “Dao Traditions”, as in the “Chinese tea culture”[4]; in Japanese culture the “Zen- Buddhism theory” prevails during the tea ceremony[5] with “Tsukubai” and all the necessary elements of the ceremony[5]; in Russian culture the tea ceremony helps cultivating family relations and strengthen friendship; in India the tea is just a light drink with some sweets, although the bitter sweet as it is, should we consider the history of the tea coming into life in India [3].

Why do people drink tea? When I was little, I liked having tea with my family, it was a tradition, when all the family gathered around the table with homemade pastries talking over all the day’s events drinking black tea; but now, when I am an adult, I prefer having a cup of coffee with my husband and my friends instead of tea, because tea can be seen as a “childish drink”, I mean, that only adults drink coffee on business meetings and all that stuff. I thought this way when I was a little girl, that coffee equals adulthood, and so does my four year old son, when he asks me to give him a cup of coffee to look like his father and seem more older than he really is, hence he gets only tea, saying that he has yet to grow up a little; but now I think that all depends on a person`s habits and tastes. Although, when I am at work, most of our guests prefer having a cup of coffee or a tea consequently, no matter from what country they have come, as in people from Japan may ask for a cup of coffee or a strong black tea, if there has been a long flight; a person from Brazil[6] may ask for a refreshing green tea, if the weather is hot. All depends on the comfort and personal habits.

Today tea and coffee are on a silent battle so to speak, and each takes the top at a given season of the year, as in cold time of the year we prefer coffee, because it helps warm up and be more filled with energy; however during hot seasons we prefer tea, because it helps cooling down and relaxing. I have tried a cold coffee from a tin, and it was the most terrible and disgusting drink ever. Tastes differ. There are people who might like it, but I would prefer having a cup of warm tea instead.

My guess is that any cultural research for other country`s traditions starts with a tea or coffee traditions, because when people have a cup of tasty warm drink it helps establish warm friendly relations. Wine also may be a good way, but is has a certain intoxicating effect at some point that tea or coffee does not, and tea or coffee can be used all day long and as long as you like, despite wine and other “fire breathing” drinks. A good friendly warm drink helps connecting people from all around the world and at all times.