Every year on December 15, all countries that hold the status of the world's leading tea producers celebrate Tea Day —, a holiday of one of the oldest and healthiest drinks on Earth. It should not be confused with another date — International Tea Day, established by the UN in 2019.
The purpose of today is to attract the attention of governments and citizens to the problems of tea sales, the relationship between tea sales and the situation of tea production workers, small producers and consumers. And, of course, — popularization of this drink.
The decision to celebrate the holiday on December 15 was made after repeated discussions in many international organizations and trade unions, during the World Social Forum, held in 2004 in Mumbai, India and in 2005 in Porte Allegre, Brazil). It was on this day that the World Declaration of the Rights of Tea Industry Workers was adopted in 1773.
Accordingly, Tea Day is mainly celebrated by countries in whose economies the article on tea production occupies one of the main places — are India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Uganda, Tanzania.
The international trade policy pursued by the World Trade Organization assumes that producing countries will open their borders to trade. The commodity price of tea is steadily declining in all countries, along with a lack of clarity in setting the price of tea.
Tea continues to be one of the most beloved drinks on the planet (Photo: Igor Klimov, licensed from Shutterstock.com)
There is overproduction in the tea industry, but this phenomenon is controlled as profits are pumped to global brands. Global brands have the ability to buy tea at the lowest prices, while the tea industry is undergoing large-scale restructuring everywhere. It is expressed in disintegration and disengagement at the level of tea plantations and consolidation at the level of brands.
It is believed that tea, as a drink, was discovered by the second Emperor of China, Shen Nung, around 2737 BC, when the emperor lowered the leaves of a tea tree into a cup of hot water. Is it possible to imagine that now we drink the same tea that the Chinese emperor ate almost 5 thousand years ago!
In the 400–600s, interest in tea as a medicinal drink increased in China, and therefore tea cultivation processes developed. In Europe and Russia, tea became known from the first half of the 17th century. And one of the most famous events in modern tea history — is the «Boston Tea Party», which occurred on December 16, 1773, when American colonists threw boxes of tea into Boston harbor to protest against the British tea tax.
Many countries have their own tea drinking traditions... (Photo: robinimages2013, licensed from Shutterstock.com)
Today, many tea lovers, in addition to «cooking», add various herbs, onions, ginger, spices or orange slices to their favorite drink. Some peoples make tea with milk... Many countries have their own tea drinking traditions, but invariably one — tea continues to be one of the most beloved drinks on the planet.
The holiday, although not official, is widely celebrated by some countries (but mainly these are Asian countries). In Russia, it is celebrated recently and not yet everywhere —; in different cities, various exhibitions, master classes, seminars, and promotions dedicated to the theme of tea and its proper use are timed to coincide with this day.
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