#daillyfacts

Turkey is one of the largest tea markets in the world; in 2004, Turkey produced 205,500 tons of tea, with 120,000 tons consumed and the rest exported. Furthermore, Turkey had the highest tea consumption in the world, at 2.5 kg per person, followed by the UK, 2.1 kg per person. 

Image: People drinking tea. 

Preparation

Traditional Turkish tea is prepared using two kettles called “çaydanlık”. Water is heated and boiled in the larger kettle called “çaydanlık” and tea is put in the smaller kettle on top to infuse, the smaller kettle is heated by the hot steam that the lower kettle makes.

Image: Çaydanlık, made of metal. Traditionally, it can be made of copper. 

 The tea is served in small glasses specially designed for tea called “çay bardağı”- a tulip-shaped glass (Turkish: ince belli çay bardağı). First, tea is poured from the kettle on top, and to dilute the tea, water is added from the bigger kettle. The consumer can choose either a strong (Turkish: koyu, meaning “dark”) or weak (Turkish açık, meaning “light”). The tea can be drunk with sugar. It isn’t taken with milk. 

Image: Strong (koyu/demli) tea or weak (açık) tea. 

Culture&History

Tea is a very important part of Turkish culture. Tea is the most commonly consumed drink, despite the country’s long history of coffee consumption. It’s a very important symbol of Turkish hospitality, as offering tea to guests is a very common tradition. It is consumed mostly everywhere— houses, shops…Mostly, Turkish people prefer to eat biscuits, either salty or sweet called “kurabiye” with tea. It is also drunk with “simit”, a bagel mostly eaten with/as the breakfast. 

Image: Tea and bagel (simit) with the view of the Maiden Tower in Istanbul. 

As mentioned before, tea is produced in Rize and eastern Black Sea region. The first people brought tea to that region are Zihni Derin, an agriculture engineer from Muğla, and Hulusi Karadeniz, a lawyer from Rize in the early 1920s from Russia.  It was actually encouraged as an alternative to coffee because, during WW1, coffee was expensive and sometimes unavailable. 

Image: Woman in tea fields, collecting tea. 

Especially after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and was lost in the southeastern territories, coffee became an expensive import. With the foundation of the Turkish Republic by Atatürk, Turkish people preferred more sustainable domestic products than imported products. 

---

Thanks for reading! I will continue posting about the Turkish culture every Tuesday, you can keep up with the series below this text by clicking the links, I will keep updating the posts for adding links. Thank you :)

TURKISH DELIGHT (LOKUM) | {Turkish Culture 1/Türk Kültürü 1}

DONDURMA (MARAŞ DONDURMASI) | {Turkish Culture 2/Türk Kültürü 2}

TURKISH TEA (TÜRK ÇAYI) | {Turkish Culture 3/Türk Kültürü 3}

TARHANA (TARHANA ÇORBASI) | Turkish Culture 4/Türk Kültürü 4}

On the other, honey is the oldest “treat” for humans. It is estimated that it is first used 8000 years ago, as seen on this rock painting (a man harvesting honey from a tree):

Image: “Man of Bicor." c. 15000 BC. Cueva de la Arana, Valencia, Spain. 

The honey’s benefits are known for thousands of years by humans. So, if honey is a very beneficial thing, bees should be capable of doing more. 

What are the bee products with their benefits?

Honey 

The most popular bee product. Honey is made when the bees gather nectar and sweet deposits from plants and/or trees stored in honeycombs to feed the colony. 

Antioxidants are present in honey, which lowers the high blood pressure and good for the heart, as well as it improves cholesterol. Honey being a very beneficial product shall make us consume it. 

Nectar

Nectar is high in moisture and used by the bees as an energy source. 

Beeswax 

It is used by the bees to build the hive, especially when forming the walls. In industry, it is used to make candles, lip balms, and creams. Apart from industrial productions, it is also used for high cholesterol, pain, and diarrhea. 

Pollen

Worker bees collect pollen. It is an essential source of protein. It can be eaten in small amounts or can be sprinkled on food up to the person. 

Păstura (Bee Bread)

Pollen cannot be consumed on its raw form, so bees mix pollen with enzymes and other microorganisms to prepare the nutritious bee bread. It can be used for many different diseases or health problems, such as treatment of anemia, alleviation of rheumatic pain, and coordination with probiotics in bacterial infections. 

Propolis

It is used by honeybees to defend their hives against enemy insects. It has medical qualities, so it is used by people in cosmetics and toothpaste as an ingredient. 

Royal Jelly

The larvae which will become the new queen of the colony are fed with royal jelly. This substance helps the insect to form wings and fully developed ovaries to lay eggs. It has a very short aid of shelf life, so it is stored in refrigerators and they are mixed with beeswax or honey. It is rich in antioxidants, it may reduce the heart disease risk by regulating cholesterol. It may repair the skin. Its antioxidant properties increase healthy brain functions.

------

Source:

•“Despre PĂSTURA NATURALĂ.” ActiveNews - Știri Nefiltrate, m.activenews.ro/prima-pagina/Despre-PASTURA-NATURALA-103265.

•“Bees, Beekeeping and Honey.” The History of Honey, www.heathmonthoney.com.au/bees/HoneyHistory.htm.

•“What Are Pollinators and Why Do We Need Them? (Center for Pollinator Research).” Department of Entomology (Penn State University), ento.psu.edu/pollinators/resources-and-outreach/what-are-pollinators-and-why-do-we-need-them.

•Rodgers, Paul. “Einstein And The Bees. Should You Worry?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 May 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/paulrodgers/2014/09/09/einstein-and-the-bees-should-you-worry/#182fad9d8157.

•Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Bee.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 7 Feb. 2019, www.britannica.com/animal/bee.