This section contains reference and resource materials that may be useful for the study of tea.
Henry Cave, Demodera Tea Factory, c. 1900.
Glossary
Students should be familiar with the following terms to support their study of tea, tea plantations and Sri Lanka.
|
agroecosystem: |
an ecosystem devoted to agricultural activities |
| Ceylon | The former name for the island country in South Asia that is now known as Sri Lanka. It became independent in 1948; its name change occurred in 1972 |
| climate change: | long-term changes in weather patterns resulting from human actions and other causes |
| convergence of disadvantage: | a confluence of social factors in which problematic conditions combine to reinforce each other, to the detriment of individuals and communities |
| deforestation: | cutting down trees to eliminate forest areas |
| ecosystem: | a natural system in which plants and animals interact with their physical environment |
| fair trade: | a movement in which trade, particularly internationally, seeks to fairly reimburse the original producers, especially those in developing countries, for their efforts |
| fossil fuels: | fuels that come from the earth, formed from the remains of long-dead organisms, including coal, natural gas and oil, used frequently for energy in automobiles and airplanes, |
| globalization: | an intertwined economic system in which goods, services, capital and people have international connections and/or influence |
| ozone layer: | a band of the Earth’s upper atmosphere that blocks harmful ultraviolet radiation, a layer that plays an important role in protecting life on this planet |
| plantation: | a large estate on which crops are planted, grown and tended by laborers living and working there |
| privatization: | the transfer of ownership from the public sector (government) to private entities |
| sustainability: | efforts to maintain ecosystems through carefully preserving and nurturing natural resources, for the present and the future |
Ceylon tea sales center, Sri Lanka, c. 2010
Further Resources
Explore History of Ceylon Tea: Publications and Articles
Primary sources for the study of tea in Sri Lanka, including publications mentioned in other sections of this unit.
http://www.historyofceylontea.com/ceylon-publications/
Ceylon Tea Planters’ Note Book of Useful Memoranda, 1902-3
A very technical and practical historical publication with many charts detailing costs, machinery, prices, etc.
http://storage.lib.uchicago.edu/pres/2014/pres2014-1196.pdf
Optional Instructional Activities
Tea Tasting: Teas can be purchased locally or online to provide a comparative tasting. Either teas from various locations in Sri Lanka (high, medium or low elevations – Dilmah sells a set of various elevation teas), or teas from various countries (China, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya), with the caveat that no conclusions should be drawn from small samples. Differences in processing can be explored through green, black and white teas. Varieties such as lapsang souchong provide a sense of the range of tea flavors. Consider the various adjectives that can be used to describe tea’s taste on the flavor wheel, https://www.schooloftea.org/downloads.html.
Westerners, Tea and Sri Lanka: Read one or two of the recent autobiographical books by Westerners spending time in Sri Lanka, with some attention to tea: A Year in Green Tea and Tuk-Tuks: My Unlikely Adventure Creating an Eco Farm in Sri Lanka by Rory Spowersor Tea Time with Terrorists: A Motorcycle Journey into the Heart of Sri Lanka’s Civil War byMark Stephen Meadows. How do their experiences match your knowledge of the history of tea on the island? How much work does it take to understand a culture?
Tea Revives the World: This map created in 1940 by Macdonald Gill is available from online sellers for less than $10 (plus shipping), or online versions are available (but may be difficult to read and explore). It provides a sense of the comfort tea provided to Britons unsettled by World War II, in a humorous and educational format. Discuss the role of tea as an unofficial national beverage.
Tea Traditions: Compare the cultural traditions associated with tea by viewing a Japanese tea ceremony (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL9BiNuImws), a British afternoon tea in a “posh” setting (a scene from Downton Abbey or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKA7b7Zxi7A), and drinking mint tea (attaya) in Senegal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH5bXUcbFrE or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpBLnPr3JKM&feature=related.
Tea Poetry: Poems about tea have been written across the centuries. Choose several from https://allpoetry.com/poems/about/teato consider the meaning of tea for the authors.
Tea in Film: Tea and tea parties have played pivotal roles in many films, including Alice in Wonderland (the cartoon version, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msvOUUgv6m8 or the Johnny Depp version, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZgAynN2N7I), Beauty and the Beast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNpxWngkCCk), Tea with Mussolini (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEAUlJEGGwU), etc. See what others you can think of, watch the clips, and determine why tea was used as a plot point.
Print Bibliography
These books provide information on the history of tea, the history of Sri Lanka, the effects of tea on the environment, immigrant Tamil labor on tea plantations in Sri Lanka, and the effects of globalization on national economies and contemporary daily life.
Bass, Daniel. Everyday Ethnicity in Sri Lanka: Up-country Tamil Identity Politics. Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series, 2012.
Jayawardena, Kumari and Rachel Kurian. Class, Patriarchy and Ethnicity on Sri Lankan Plantations: Two Centuries of Power and Protest. Orient BlackSwan, 2015.
McCarthy, Angela and T.M. Devine, Tea & Empire: James Taylor in Victorian Ceylon. Manchester University Press, 2017.
Peebles, Patrick. The History of Sri Lanka. The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations, 2006.
Rappaport, Erika. A Thirst for Empire. Princeton University Press, 2017.
Rose, Sarah. For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink and Changed History. Viking, 2010.
Webb, Jr., James L.A. Tropical Pioneers: Human Agency and Ecological Change in the Highlands of Sri Lanka, 1800-1900. Ohio University Press, 2002.
