Why hello! I see you've made it just in time for our daily four o'clock tea appointment. I'm especially excited over today's tea selection, it's a homemade concoction that has been in the family for many, many generations and I'm proud to be sharing it with you. No, no, it's not our usual black tea and milk, nor is it the spicy orange and cinnamon that we had the other week, this tea is different. My dear friend, allow me to introduce to you the wonderfully nutritious and rich compost tea!
Why are you making that face? No, no, we will not be drinking it! No I haven't lost my mind! This is very special to me; allow me to explain to you why…
I took note yesterday that you complimented me on my fine vegetable garden, which is, of course the finest in all of this side of Southampton. Anyhow, my secret to having such a fine and award-winning garden lies in my commitment to providing nutritious compost and compost tea for the garden. What is compost tea, you ask? Well, simply put, compost tea is the liquid run-off that results from the vegetables, food scraps and plants themselves, mixed with water. After I harvested this tea, I would then dilute it with a bit of water, pour it into a spray bottle and refresh my vegetables with this wonderful liquid fertilizer. Some gardeners like to call this tea "liquid gold," even though it sounds a bit crude. However, this tea is like gold for my vegetable garden; it is the reason why they're so healthy and free of fungi.
Avid gardeners such as myself are fond of this special tea. I would not recommend anyone drinking it, per se, but I do strongly advise any passionate gardener to utilize this naturally organic resource for their garden. And now that I've finished offering you my explanation of my fondness for compost tea, would you like to take some home with you for your garden? No? Oh well, quite alright, let us settle down and enjoy a nice spot of tea…
It is the prettiest industry-and now a tourist attraction.
The ancient Lu U spoke of tea (cha), in the Chinese classic Cha Ching, as the herb that allows one to fly on the wings of immortality. The Chinese jealously guarded their bushes and manufacturing secrets, though they willingly traded tea to the Gwyalo (?white devil?) for gold. By 1832 tea was part of daily life in England, imported by East India Company ships. John Company's monopoly ended in the 19th century, but he wasn't about to give up on such a lucrative trade. He began to look elsewhere-and what better place than in India?
After much experimentation, the British discovered a native species of the Camellia sinensis-the tea plant-in Assam. Charles Bruce extracted the techniques of cultivation from the Khamti and Singpho tribes, who had long been drinking a concoction, made from its leaves, and set up a nursery of indigenous tea plants in Sadia. The first consignment of Assam teas was sent to London in 1839, a London broker ordered 1,000 chests, and the scramble for Indian tea began. The British braved the boat journey up the Brahmaputra, and the kala azar (malaria), to clear the jungle. By 1841 the Assam Company, run by Bruce and Masters, had produced 29,000 kg of tea. The industry was forbidden to natives; Maniram Dewan, the first Assamese planter, was executed for defying this dictat. Meanwhile British planters, to cushion their loneliness, set up lifestyles to rival those of English lords. To this day, the road to Upper Assam is lined with unending miles of tea gardens. Nonoi, Kellyden, Hathikuli? the names conjure up days of yore. You can smell the fresh leaves as soon as you enter the tea districts. ?On either side of the road stretch bushes trimmed and plucked to perfection like huge billiards tables?. In the distance you might glimpse a Manager's Bungalow, built on stilts and covered with flowering bougainvillea.
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Vicki Duong has sinced written about articles on various topics from Interior Design, Home Management and Home Improvement. For a terrific selection in chipper shredder and lawn sweepers be sure to visit Composters.com today: . Vicki Duong's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.
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