The International Tea Day is annually celebrated by tea-growing countries like India and Sri Lanka since 2005 and in December 2019, the United Nation (UN) approved the proposal to celebrate the International Tea Day put forth by the Government of India in the session of the Intergovernmental Group on Tea and designated May 21st as International Tea Day.
First Observance of the International Tea Day: Harnessing benefits for all from field to cup — 21 May 2020, featured the participation of Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of General Assembly.
Key Points:
i.The People of Britain have two days for the celebration of tea. April 21 of every year is celebrated as the National Tea Day and the May 21st is celebrated as the International Tea Day.
ii.The Tea Board announced a special auction of tea manufactured with high quality green leaf plucked on May 21 to celebrate the first International Tea Day. The auction will be conducted in June and a percentage of the proceeds will be contributed to the relief funds to combat COVID-19
iii.The programme titled “Limited edition endeavour” inviting planters to pluck high quality tea of two leaves a bud in the fields across the country and manufacture it in factories on May 21. These leaves will be packed in paper sacks for the auction
iv.S Soundararajan, Tea Board’s Director of Tea Development mentioned estates and bought leaf factories can participate and the participating factories can offer only 5 sacks at the maximum for all categories of teas.
History of Tea:
i.It is difficult to identify the exact date of invention of this beverage due to the variants and cultures drinking tea. The earliest record of tea drinking is 3rd century AD and it is believed to originate in the Yunnan region during Shang dynasty (1600BC-1046BC) as a medicinal drink.
ii.The British introduced production of Tea in India to challenge the Chinese monopoly in the 17th century when the beverage gained popularity in Britain.
Benefits of Tea:
The health benefits of drinking tea are,
- The polyphenols, a compound of black tea and green tea helps in lowering the risks of heart diseases.
- Herbal tea with antioxidants can strengthen the Immune system.
- The caffeine and catechins, a type of polyphenol in tea supports weight loss.
- The polyphenols and antioxidants in black tea, green tea and oolong tea helps in prevention of type 2 diabetes.
- According to the UN
Need to raise public awareness of the importance of tea for rural development and sustainable livelihoods and to improve the tea value chain to contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Tea production and processing contribute to the reduction of extreme poverty, the fight against hunger, the empowerment of women and the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.
About Tea Board of India:
Chairman- Prabhat Kamal Bezhoruah
Deputy Chairman- Arun Kumar Ray
Director (Tea Development)- S Soundararajan
Headquarters- Kolkata
