Argentine tea culture is influenced by local varieties and customs and imports. This country is the main producer of tea ( Camellia sinensis ), but is most famous for the cultivation and consumption of couples, made with the leaves of local couples yerba plants.
Video Argentine tea culture
History
When Jesuit missionaries first came to Argentina, they tried to ban the popular native tea, yerba matà ©  © , for fear of the quality of his addiction. They eventually changed their stance and began cultivating yerba matà ©  © in plantations in the province of Misiones in particular (and elsewhere in South America), until the expulsion of the religious order of America in 1767 during the Persecution of the Society of Jesus.
The first variety of non-native teas grown in colonial Argentina was introduced from Russia in 1920. Beginning in 1924, the Argentine government urged farmers to experiment with growing tea seeds imported by the government from China and then distributed to interested farmers. Farmers tested this tea planting in the provinces of Misiones, Corrientes, Formosa, Chaco and Tucuman. Immigrant farmers also experimented with growing imported tea on their soil. The low price of tea in the world market reduces the enthusiasm of farmers on imported tea crops. This tea is also considered inferior to foreign tea. Therefore, small domestic production before 1951, when the Argentine government imposed a ban on imported tea. Tea remains a popular beverage, so demand leads to an increase in local tea cultivation. In 1952, a new tea plantation was established in the province of Misiones in northeastern Argentina, growing a better quality of tea than had been cultivated before. The increasing demand for tea causes more farmers to cultivate it. In the late 1950s, Argentina began exporting tea to Chile. Argentina has expanded its export market for decades, achieving its current status as the world's ninth largest tea producer.
Maps Argentine tea culture
Tea production
Argentina is an important tea-producing country, the world's ninth largest tea producer in 2005 with an estimated annual output of 64,000 metric tons.
Argentina's region with the largest concentration of tea cultivation is the highlands of the province of Misiones and Corrientes in northeastern Argentina, where the climate is hot and humid. Large estates are on relatively flat soil where very mechanical production can occur. Tea planting season is from November to May.
Tea exports from Argentina amount to about 50 million kilograms per year. Argentinian tea is mainly used for mixing. The largest export market is the United States, where the majority of consumption for ice tea. The United Kingdom and other parts of Europe are also the country's tea market.
Yerba mate
Mate is tisane , or herbal tea, which is popular in Argentina as well as in Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Mate is Quechuan word for "gourd". Mate is served in a hollow flask (or sometimes horn or nail), and is drunk through a metal straw called bombilla . This style of presentation comes from the original culture, Guarani. The Guarani calls the factory yerba matà ©  Caa '. Indigenous peoples create bombillas from sugar cane, and make filters at the ends with vegetable fiber; bombilla straws today, though made of metal, retain the filter feature at the end that is immersed in a flask.
Complicated rituals exist for sharing mate :
The
[server] pours water slowly as he fills the pumpkin. Gourd then goes clockwise, and this order, once set, continues. A good cebador will make a steady partner without changing yerba for some time. Each participant drank a dry squash each time.
Considered to have medicinal properties by Native South Americans, Mate has various active compounds. It has antioxidant properties and cholesterol-lowering, and contains vitamins C, B1, and B2. Colonists and other outsiders observed that gauchos in Argentina and adjacent countries lived on a diet slightly more than meat and mating without developing scurvy. Mate develops a reputation as a healthy drink that helps spread its popularity. The drink is widespread in Argentina today. Every year, Argentina consumes an average of 5 kg mate per person. This is a popular morning drink, because of its high caffeine content. Mate tea served in traditional pumpkin cups should not be stirred with straw; it is considered a bad etiquette in Argentina's tea culture. It's also considered polite to remove bombilla when sharing mate .
Alternate style mate is also popular in Argentina. The so-called cocido pair is just a yerba matÃÆ' © brewed in a tea bag, similar to an Asian-style tea, and served with milk or sugar. Mate cocido is a less bitter variation in traditional couple beverages. Orange peel and hot milk added to yerba matà ©  © create a drink called mate de leche con cascarita de naranja .
A museum dedicated to the history of yerba matà ©  © is located in Tigre, near Buenos Aires.
tea and company habits
The southernmost regions of Argentina, Patagonia, and the city of Gaiman in particular, are known for some traditional Welsh tea houses that are popular with tourists. Tea houses were founded by Welsh people who emigrated to Argentina looking for cultural freedom during the time in the 19th century when Welsh language was pressed in the United Kingdom. The Welsh tea habit is similar to that done throughout England and Ireland, with tea served around 4:00 pm, tea drinks mixed with milk and sugar and consumed with cakes and pastries.
A combination of British tea culture and Argentinean cuisine can be found in several places in Buenos Aires, where tea is served in the afternoon following the English custom. British traditional tea varieties such as Earl Gray are served with scones, tarts and finger sandwiches, or a selection of customers from an Argentinian tea menu such as asado de tira (beef ribs).
Young Argentine tastes in tea drinks are increasingly influenced by global retail trends. Argentine consumers can buy Moroccan mint tea or Chinese green tea as well as more traditional varieties. In a concession to Argentinean tea culture, when Starbucks opened its first outlet in Argentina, announced that it would include a couple latte drinks on its menu.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments