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    English Essay - Dominic Paxton

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    The document provides an analysis of the differences between the eastern and western tea industries. Some key differences are that tea is more popular in the east while coffee is preferred in the west. The eastern tea industry focuses on quality and brewing methods like gongfu cha that allow for more control, while the western industry prioritizes convenience with tea bags. The document also notes that tea has remained culturally significant in the east but been replaced by coffee in many western cultures due to factors like colonialism and slavery.

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    English Essay - Dominic Paxton

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    api-595407977
    105 views5 pages
    The document provides an analysis of the differences between the eastern and western tea industries. Some key differences are that tea is more popular in the east while coffee is preferred in the west. The eastern tea industry focuses on quality and brewing methods like gongfu cha that allow for more control, while the western industry prioritizes convenience with tea bags. The document also notes that tea has remained culturally significant in the east but been replaced by coffee in many western cultures due to factors like colonialism and slavery.

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    The document provides an analysis of the differences between the eastern and western tea industries. Some key differences are that tea is more popular in the east while coffee is preferred in the west. The eastern tea industry focuses on quality and brewing methods like gongfu cha that allow for more control, while the western industry prioritizes convenience with tea bags. The document also notes that tea has remained culturally significant in the east but been replaced by coffee in many western cultures due to factors like colonialism and slavery.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    105 views5 pages

    English Essay - Dominic Paxton

    Uploaded by

    api-595407977
    The document provides an analysis of the differences between the eastern and western tea industries. Some key differences are that tea is more popular in the east while coffee is preferred in the west. The eastern tea industry focuses on quality and brewing methods like gongfu cha that allow for more control, while the western industry prioritizes convenience with tea bags. The document also notes that tea has remained culturally significant in the east but been replaced by coffee in many western cultures due to factors like colonialism and slavery.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 5

    A Modern-Day Analysis of the Differences Between the Eastern and Western Tea Industry

    Dominic Paxton

    Business Administration, Holland College

    ENGL-1000 English F21B 2122 BUSB

    Trish Macleod

    November 23, 2021


    2

    A Modern-Day Analysis of the Differences between the Eastern and Western Tea Industry

    Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, only after coffee. Most tea

    drinking comes from the eastern world, whereas coffee has a foothold within the western area

    (Engelhardt, 2020). Tea is a beverage prepared with the leaves of the Camelia Sinensis plant,

    with the two main varieties being those of Camellia Sinensis Assamica and Camellia Sinensis

    Sinensis (Engelhardt, 2020). These leaves can be prepared in numerous diverse ways, leading to

    multiple types of tea. The five main types of tea are white, green, oolong, black, Pu-erh. Each of

    these varieties has its production process that is required to identify as that type of tea. One

    example of a separate production process is green teas having their enzymes deactivated through

    heat (Engelhardt, 2020). The most popular tea within the western hemisphere is black tea,

    whereas the most popular tea in an area such as China is either oolong or Pu’erh. Pu’erh tea has

    immense marketing potential due to its ability to age. When Pu'er tea ages, the flavour enhances,

    and the tea increases in age. In China, some rich people will invest money into Pu'erh tea. Tea

    has embedded itself in history through many events and the popularity that has spanned across

    decades.

    Tea is an integral part of the history of both the West and the east, whether in the Boston

    Tea Party or the traditional Japanese Cha-No-Yu/tea ceremony, originating back in the fifteenth

    to the sixteenth century (Hara, 2001). The western tea industry has become overshadowed by the

    coffee industry. There is a preconceived notion of coffee being a symbol of independence within

    the United States. “Coffee’s success in the United States derived more from slavery and the end

    of the European colonialism in the Caribbean and Brazil than it did from patriotic fervor or a

    sense of new manhood.” (Thurston, et al. 2013, p. 234). Coffee was mass-produced and sent to

    America for cheaper due to the slavery in Brazil and the Caribbean, where coffee is grown. Tea
    3

    has grown to be a stereotype of the United Kingdoms and has become disregarded within North

    America. Unlike the western world, tea has remained the prevailing drink of the east. The

    difference between the west and the east in terms of tea consumption is quality and marketing.

    The western tea industry revolves around ease of use in the form of tea bags and sachets.

    These tend to use lower grade tea rather than loose leaf tea, with the loose leaf being a less

    popular format of tea consumption. Loose-leaf tea is a much higher quality tea, containing whole

    leaves rather than tea fannings. Tea fannings are the dust and crushed leaves of the tea. Another

    marketing strategy used for the western world of tea is the health factor, as tea contains many

    antioxidants and l-theanine, leading to a solid energy boost with no fall off like coffee does

    (Engelhardt, 2020). The reasoning behind the energy boost is the combination of caffeine and l-

    theanine. Green tea is widely considered the healthiest variation due to having the highest

    amounts of l-theanine (Engelhardt, 2020). Within the eastern industry, tea is not marketed

    towards any one part of the population because it is deeply rooted in their culture, and everyone

    already drinks it. In the east, they do not use teabags as often as there are many more tea

    production facilities nearby it is possible to get them for a lower price. The tea industry within

    China and other Asian countries is very weighted, and people will hold onto the tea and allow it

    to age to then resell for longer.

    Tea is brewed with more care and attention within the eastern world through different

    methods. The most common example is Gongfu Cha, a traditional brewing method from China

    (Lui). Gongfu Cha translated directly to Tea with Great Skill, is the art of brewing tea through a

    Gaiwan, using a higher leaf to water ratio, allowing for more concentrated tea (Lui). Gongfu is

    about controlling each tiny nuance of the tea. With the gongfu brewing method, the quality of the

    tea is a lot more vital than brewing the western style. Chinese teas tend to be higher quality loose
    4

    leaf tea due to the prevalence of the gongfu method. In the west, the primary brewing style is

    western style preparation, which involves putting a teaspoon of leaf per cup of water and

    brewing for longer. Western-style is the easiest method but gives back a worse brewed product.

    The technique of the west allows for lower grade leaf to be used and extracts the flavour over a

    decent amount of time, allowing the negative aspects of the tea not to show as much. The eastern

    method of tea brewing has high reward ceilings but also a higher risk in brewing. With the

    eastern approach, the quality of the tea is a lot more vital, allowing you to control the slight

    nuances of the brewing. Both methods can wonderfully utilize high-quality loose-leaf tea.

    There are many differences between the western and eastern tea industries, but there are

    also similarities regarding how both have methods for brewing that work well with quality tea.

    There is an immense number of differences between the two tea industries that separate them

    immensely. The eastern tea industry is based on quality and enjoying the process, whereas the

    western tea industry is based on convenience and having a quick cup of tea. Both have their

    advantages and disadvantages that perfectly complement their target market, such as the ability

    to make a quick cup of tea for the fast-paced western lifestyle. Both markets have varying

    products that are vastly different from one another. The tea industry is permanently changing,

    and these two forms of it will change as well.


    5

    References

    Engelhardt, U. (2021) Tea chemistry – What do and what don’t we know? – A micro review. TU

    Braunschweig.

    Kara, Y. (2001). Green Tea: Health Benefits and Applications. Marcel Dekker, Inc.

    Lui, D. Gong-Fu Cha – The Complete Guide To Making Chinese Tea – By Daniel Lui – The

    Chinese Tea Shop. Gong-Fu Cha - The Complete Guide To Making Chinese Tea - By

    Daniel Lui – The Chinese Tea Shop

    Thurston, Robert, et al. (2013). Coffee : A Comprehensive Guide to the Bean, the Beverage, and

    the Industry. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

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