Leaves of Grass

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is a singular plant. Its leaves and buds produce the most widely consumed beverage in the world, and for ages, the tea trade has driven the economic, military, and political engines of Eastern Eurasia. Yet, it remains a quiet refuge—a comfort for generations of weary pilgrims, heartsick poets, and anxious carpet merchants.

Camellia Sinensis. Source: http://www.pfaf.org

I am constantly amazed by how different treatments of the raw leaf produce such a vast aromatic spectrum; the resulting drinks often seem to originate from entirely different species. There is the delicate freshness of white tea and the potent, vegetal bite of Japanese greens like Sencha; the magnificent floral notes of Tie Guanyin Oolong (铁观音: Tie—iron, Guanyin—the Bodhisattva of Compassion) and the heavy, earthy sweetness of Pu-erh. This diversity is simply the result of specific growing regions and varied methods of steaming, fermentation, and drying.

Tie Guanyin. Source: www.pearlrivertea.com

Pu-erh. Source: www.chinatourguide.com

The etymology of tea offers a fascinating look at how ancient trade routes dictated what we call the drink today.

When an Arab and a Jew sit over a hypothetical cup of tea at Damascus Gate, each represents the terminus of a different historical journey.

The Arab, asking for "shai" (شاي), represents the northern land route. This path began in Northern China, where the dominant Mandarin dialect calls tea chá (茶).

From Northern China, camel caravans set out across the Eurasian steppe, winding through the cities of Central Asia to reach the Iranian plateau, the Middle East, and eventually Russia. Consequently, the name of the drink reflects its North Chinese origin, appearing as chai in Uzbek, Russian, Turkish, and Persian (چای), among many other regional languages.

The Jew, by contrast, orders "te" (or "tay" in colloquial Hebrew), using the word as it reached the West via maritime trade. These routes flowed from the commercial hubs of Southeast China, through the Strait of Malacca and the Indian Ocean, to Europe. This sea trade was initially dominated by the Dutch East India Company, who dealt with merchants speaking the Amoy dialect (Xiamenese) of Fujian. In that tongue, tea is called "te." The name took root across Western languages: thé in French, té in Spanish, Tee in German, and tea in English. Interestingly, the original English pronunciation was identical to the Hebrew, as captured by the 18th-century poet Alexander Pope:

“Soft yielding minds to water glide away,

And sip, with Nymphs, their elemental Tea”

And so, likely through German mediation, the Jew orders his steaming drink using a word born of the maritime routes that began in Southeast China.