Dominica tea culture combines many customs adapted from various colonial and immigrant cultures that have mingled on the Caribbean island. "Bush teas", made from local herbal plants and often taken for medicinal purposes, are a traditional part of Dominica

Dominica

Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...

's culture.

Tea terms in Dominica

Dominica's tropical rainforest climate makes it suitable for cultivating many types of plant that may be used to make teas.
The word "tea" has a broader meaning in Dominica than in most other parts of the English-speaking world.
In Dominica, the word is used for many beverages other than the traditional Camellia sinensis

Camellia sinensis

Camellia sinensis is the species of plant whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce Chinese tea. It is of the genus Camellia , a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. White tea, green tea, oolong, pu-erh tea and black tea are all harvested from this species, but are processed...

 imported from Asia.
Imported tea from Asia is called "green tea". Dominicans also consume "Cocoa Tea", made of cocoa beans, and several types of "bush tea". Bush teas are brewed from herbs, in some cases using plant roots, bark or flowers, which are traditionally held to have medicinal properties. Dominicans also distinguish between "hot teas" and "cooling teas".

"Tea" is often used instead of "breakfast" for the first meal of the day. This usage has its origins in the colonial era, when plantation workers would have "tea" at sunrise before going to work. The second "tea" of the day took place in mid-morning. This is different from British culture, where "tea" often refers to a light meal with a cup of Assam tea in the late afternoon.

Cocoa tea

Cocoa is a staple crop in Dominica that most farmers traditionally harvested, and that is common in Caribbean markets. Cocoa tea is made by chopping a cocoa stick or ball into small pieces, or shredding the cocoa on a grater. It is mixed with water, condensed milk

Condensed milk

Condensed milk, also known as sweetened condensed milk, is cow's milk from which water has been removed and to which sugar has been added, yielding a very thick, sweet product which when canned can last for years without refrigeration if unopened. The two terms, condensed milk and sweetened...

, cinnamon, leaves from a Christmas bush

Christmas Bush

Christmas Bush may refer to:*Bursaria spinosa, a small tree or shrub that occurs in all Australian states*Ceratopetalum gummiferum, a tall shrub from Australia also known as the New South Wales Christmas Bush...

 or bay leaves, grated nutmeg

Nutmeg

The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...

 and sugar. Cocoa tea is served hot, often accompanied by a light snack such as banana fritter

Fritter

A fritter is any kind of food coated in batter and deep fried. Although very similar to a doughnut it differs in the fact that it requires some base ingredient beyond the dough it is cooked with.-Anglo-American fritters:...

s.
Cocoa tea is similar to hot chocolate.

Hibiscus tea

Hibiscus tea

Hibiscus tea

Hibiscus tea is the infusion made from the calyces of the Hibiscus sabdariffa flower, an herbal tea drink consumed both hot and cold by people around the world...

 is popular in Dominica, as in other Caribbean and Latin American cultures. Hibiscus plants are native to the tropics, and have long been associated with health benefits in traditional medicine. Hibiscus tea may be served either hot or as an iced tea.
Some studies indicate that hibiscus tea lowers blood pressure in adults with mild hypertension

Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...

 or prehypertension.

Medicinal teas

Bush teas are usually drunk for medicinal purposes or to maintain health.
Many common plants in Dominica are used in these teas.
Tea from the Common Guava leaf is used for diarrhea, and tea from the orange

Orange (fruit)

An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....

 leaf is taken to stop vomiting. Caribbean Albizia bark (Albizia niopoides) gives a tea that soothes scorpion stings. Other bush teas are used to treat vitamin deficiencies, digestive ailments, or parasitic infections. Some plants believed to have medicinal properties are located at the Dominica Botanic Gardens. These include varieties that have been used in traditional medicinal teas in Dominica, and plants used in traditional medicine in other Caribbean islands or other parts of the world.

Medicinal teas in Dominica can be traced to the original indigenous Carib inhabitants and to the African slaves

Atlantic slave trade

The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...

 who were brought to the islands. The Caribs traditionally made a tea from the leaves of the periwinkle

Catharanthus roseus

Catharanthus roseus is a species of Catharanthus native and endemic to Madagascar. Synonyms include Vinca rosea , Ammocallis rosea, and Lochnera rosea; other English names occasionally used include Cape Periwinkle, Rose Periwinkle, Rosy Periwinkle, and "Old-maid".In the wild, it is an endangered...

 plant (Catharanthus roseus) for use as a treatment for diabetes. Pharmacological companies today extract several medicinal alkaloid

Alkaloid

Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...

s from periwinkle sap. The alkaloids derived from this plant include the anti-cancer agents vinblastine

Vinblastine

Vinblastine is an antimicrotubule drug used to treat certain kinds of cancer, including Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and testicular cancer. It is also used to treat Langerhan cell histiocytosis....

 and vincristine

Vincristine

Vincristine , formally known as leurocristine, sometimes abbreviated "VCR", is a vinca alkaloid from the Catharanthus roseus , formerly Vinca rosea and hence its name. It is a mitotic inhibitor, and is used in cancer chemotherapy.-Mechanism:Tubulin is a structural protein that polymerizes to...

. Other extracts from periwinkle help lower blood sugar in diabetics and are the basis for powerful tranquilizer

Tranquilizer

A tranquilizer, or tranquilliser , is a drug that induces tranquility in an individual.The term "tranquilizer" is imprecise, and is usually qualified, or replaced with more precise terms:...

s. The powerful qualities of this plant were known to other cultures; it is known by the name Violette de Sorcier (Sorcerer's Violet) in France.

As with many indigenous traditional medicines, the active ingredients of the plants used to make bush teas are not well understood.
At incorrect doses, or otherwise misused, teas made from these plants are toxic and may be deadly.
Worldwide, researchers are investigating indigenous herbal medicines in an effort to identify active ingredients and traditional preparations, which may have uses for modern medicine.

See also

• Dominica cuisine
• Tea
  Tea
  Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
  
  
• Herbal tea
• Traditional medicine
  Traditional medicine
  Traditional medicine comprises unscientific knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine...