The Politics Of Tea
Making a cup of tea
I love my tea and i am a firm believer that a good cup of tea can make things better. There are various methods of making tea that i have learned or witnessed growing up, for example the brewing of tea by adding water, milk and loose tea leaves to a pan and brewing it till it is dark in colour. Also the above method but with added spices like cloves, cardamon and cinnamon. Also just plain black tea with lots of sugar or with lemon grass added to the mix. I am no longer a fan of tea brewed with lots of milk in a pan for long periods, more so now that i find myself having developed an intolerance to lactose. I now favour the kettle and tea bag version with a dash of lactose free milk which my folks and friends call fake tea. My daughter recently introduced me to tea by the Chai Guys and it’s great as it is premixed with all the spices to make a great, soothing cup of tea.
Growing up, tea especially milky tea with added sugar was for breakfast and was also the preferred beverage served to visitors. I later learnt that it was a luxury in most households and the beverage of choice was porridge, an all round healthy and more nutritious drink. So during one of our days sitting under the mango tree at home, me with my usual cup of tea, i asked my dad how we came to drink more tea and less porridge? Kenya is a tea growing country and our tea can be found in popular brands like Yorkshire tea, PG tips amongst others but tea as we know it now was not a staple of ours especially us Luos. This has since changed and tea is the number one drink over porridge and i was intrigued as to how this happened?
My Dad, having been born and grown up when Kenya was under colonial rule remembers exactly how tea and the drinking of tea was introduced to our village. He remembers huge tankers being parked at the local chiefs compound and then men would be sent to go summon the male village elders to the chiefs compound for a general meeting of sorts. While they gathered at the chiefs compound they would be served tea from these tankers with lots of sugar and this practice would carry on for weeks even months. Once the colonialists were satisfied that the local elders were hooked on this new drink and now preferred it over their usual porridge, they were shown how they could brew this drink at home and then sent home with a packet of tea leaves and sugar, milk was to be obtained from the cows that they had. After a while the colonialists stopped handing out freebies whenever the locals stock got depleted and instead set up a store where they advised the local villagers to purchase tea and sugar from at subsidised prices, as tea now started taking hold over porridge in the local households.
The tea and sugar prices did not stay subsidised for long and steadily the prices started to rise, not by much but still a rise. A thus the colonialists had successfully created a market for their surplus product. And while we now enjoy tea in all its forms, i am also glad to see that we are going back to our roots and porridge is once again gaining popularity, so I can have the benefit of both.
What are some of your tea stories?
