Maciej Malinowski (Magdalen College, University of Oxford)
Summary
Tea is arguably the best drink available on the market [1]. During the talk, we discussed:
- How the tea originated from the eyelid of a Japanese monk, but not really
- Tea's journey from China to Japan, England and eventually to India
- Past and present tea traditions in Japan, United Kingdom and Poland
- How some people seriously dislike tea
- How all tea originates from the same plant, apart from non-tea
- Brewing a perfect cuppa
- Awareness regarding press releases about its health effects
Slides are available here
Further reading
Advice on brewing black tea:
ISO3103: http://sub.spc.org/san/docs/BS6008.pdf - generally bad advice if you want it tasty
Royal Society of Chemistry release: http://www.rsc.org/pdf/pressoffice/2003/tea.pdf
George Orwell in letter to 'Evening Standard': http://wikilivres.ca/wiki/A_Nice_Cup_of_Tea
I believe there is lack of good literature on the subject. The best book published in English that I know of is 'The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook' by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss. However, there is a book in Polish which I really like: 'Herbata' by Małgorzata Caprari (6.90 PLN!).