Tea
Tea, introduced into Europe from China in the early 1600s, is made from the leaves and buds of the Camellia sinensis. The Mandarin Chinese for tea is ch’a, which survives in English as char. The word tea itself is from the Amoy Chinese dialect word te. There are many varieties of tea. Darjeeling is from the Tibetan dojeling (diamond island); oolong from the Chinese wulong (black dragon); souchong from the Chinese siu chung (small sort); and pekoe is from the Chinese pekho (pek, white; ho, down or hair) – the tea is made from young leaves picked with the down still on.
Tea leaves are stored in a canister (from the Greek kanastron, a wicker basket) or caddy (from catty, the Javanese or Malay kati, a unit of weight of about .68 of a kilogram). The Russian tea urn, the samovar, means ‘self-boil’.
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
