During the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Germany implemented multiple blockades, large-scale cultural events and sports events were cancelled, restaurants, bars and other catering and entertainment venues were closed and closed, which directly caused the consumption of beer, the most popular drink in Germany, to plummet. At the same time, because tea products are mainly sold through supermarkets and pharmacies, they are not significantly affected by the lockdown measures. In addition, as people pay more attention to health issues and increase in home office work, more and more people like to drink tea, and the sales of tea products in Germany have grown against the trend.
Germans love self-produced flower and fruit tea
Currently, Germany consumes a total of 129 million cups of tea every day, about 47 billion cups per year. Unlike traditional tea-drinking countries such as China and the United Kingdom, which love traditional teas such as black tea and green tea, Germans prefer local flower and nectar teas and herbal teas. The annual sales of this type of tea in Germany is about 40,000 tons, accounting for all. Nearly 70% of tea product sales.
Strictly speaking, “tea” refers to a beverage processed from the leaves of the tea tree, so flower nectar is not tea in the true sense, but a tea-like brew made from one or more flower and fruit materials. Drinks. According to the types of flowers and fruits selected, the tea can present various flavors and aromas such as fruity, floral, sweet, sour, spicy, etc., and has the effects of refreshing, beautifying, and beautifying. Flower nectar retains natural beneficial ingredients such as essential oils, vitamins, and trace elements. It contains no caffeine and is low in calories, so it is very healthy.
Germans are accustomed to hot or cold brewing flower and nectar in the afternoon tea time, and eat it with dessert. In summer, ice cubes and honey can be added to the brewed tea to make refreshing and delicious iced tea. The color of flower nectar is bright and beautiful after brewing, so it is best to use a transparent glass pot for tea. When making tea, waiting for the tea to change color and the aroma slowly overflow is also a visual and olfactory enjoyment.
Tiaocha has become a technology patent and brand culture
Flower nectar originated in central Europe. Because fresh fruits cannot be preserved for a long time, people process and dry the fruits and use hot water as a drink during cold winters or long journeys. Germany is densely forested, fruit trees are prosperous, and there is a long history of drinking flower and fruit tea. This kind of homemade tea is especially popular during the war when coffee and tea are scarce.
The German food industry is developed and it is now the main producer of flower nectar in Europe and the largest exporter of flower nectar in the world. Well-known German flower and fruit tea companies have specialized tea blenders. How to mix flower and fruit raw materials has become a technology patent and brand culture. There are a dazzling array of flower and nectar products in German supermarkets. Common raw materials include dried fruits made from apples, and dried petals for coloring and decoration. In recent years, flower and fruit tea has also become widely known and popular in China. In fact, many domestic imported technologies mainly come from Germany.
In East Friesland, drink at least 3 cups of tea as a guest
The region with the most tea drinking per capita each year is the East Frisian region of Germany, which has reached 300 liters, which not only far exceeds the average annual tea drinking per capita in Germany (68 liters), and is even better than traditional tea drinking such as the United Kingdom and Turkey. There are more countries, and it can be called the world’s tea drinking champion.
East Friesland is the seaside area of Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany. It borders the Netherlands to the west. It covers an area of more than 3,000 square kilometers and has a population of less than 500,000. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company brought Chinese tea and porcelain to Europe for the first time. Tea was initially used only as medicine. Because of the poor water quality in East Friesland, tea was popular in all walks of life in the 18th century as a daily drink, and gradually replaced beer that was originally dominant. In history, neither the Prussian royal family’s ban on tea trade, the coffee boom that emerged in European countries in the 19th century, the high tea tax that began in the early 20th century, and the serious tea shortage after the two world wars have not It can stop East Frisians’ love for tea.
East Frisian tea is made in a special way: first put a large piece of rock sugar into the cup, then pour the boiling hot tea, listen to the cracking sound of the rock sugar, then use a small spoon to take a little cream and sink it along the wall of the cup. At the bottom, do not stir, but appreciate the white “tea cloud” formed on the surface of the tea after the cream floats up. The tea drinking ceremony is also an important etiquette for the locals to treat guests. The tea tasting process is divided into three levels: first is the mellowness of the tea itself, second is the smoothness of the cream, and finally the sweetness of the rock sugar. Guests must drink at least 3 cups of tea, and each cup of tea must be drunk in 3 mouthfuls. After that, if you don’t want to drink any more, you will put a teaspoon in the teacup to express “decline”. In 2016, the “East Frisian Tea Culture” was included in the German Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
