Due to unforeseen circumstances, today’s scheduled Leafhopper edition has to go on hold. Normal coverage will return next week with an exciting experimental brew, but I don’t want to leave your cups empty, so I’ve gathered some tea stories worth checking out while I’m away. Thanks for your patience and I’ll see you in a week!
Japanese police have arrested a man who burgled a solid gold bowl valued at 10 million yen. His reasoning? “I wanted to drink tea out of it.” [Nova News]
A new study suggests certain teas and herbal brews could help deactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus in saliva. [Medical Xpress]
On the climate front: tea growers stuck in 19th century business models are unprepared to confront warming weather, increased drought, and plummeting biodiversity to naturally protect growing regions. [Mongabay]
Darjeeling veteran Rajah Banerjee: “I am not a tea planter; I am a tree planter. Unless tea is considered part of the whole ecosystem of Darjeeling, it is bound to collapse. The destruction of ecology started with the British. And after they left, we were happy to toe the line of the old system of colonial hierarchical management to force production.” [The Telegraph]
A shortage of smoky lapsang souchong foretells the possible extinction of the world’s first black tea. [Sixth Tone]
Hitting them where it hurts: more than half of UK tea exporters have seen serious shipping disruptions from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, an act of solidarity and protest against the ongoing Western-backed genocide in Palestine. [Al Jazeera]
Exploring the role of tea in constructing British cultural identity. [BBC]
They should at least let him try that bowl. That's a better reason than wanting to resell it and frankly I think he deserves it more, I want to know what he thinks about tea served in solid gold 🤔
I appreciate the inclusion of the Telegraph article and quote from Rajah Banerjee. The impact of colonization on tea production and culture is, in my opinion, severely under-discussed in the community.