A
tea house or
tearoom is a venue centered on drinking
teaTea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods...
. Its function varies widely depending on the culture, and some cultures have a variety of distinct tea-centered houses or parlors that all qualify under the English language term "tea house" or "tea room." In Central Asia this term could refer to Shayhana in Kazakh and Chayhona in Uzbek which literally means a tea room.
China
In
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, a tea house (茶馆, "cháguăn" or 茶屋, "cháwū") is traditionally quite similar to the American "cafe", albeit centered around tea rather than
coffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. They are seeds of "coffee cherries" that grow on trees in over 70 countries. It has been said that green coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world behind crude oil. Due to its...
. People gather at tea houses to chat, socialize, and enjoy tea. Young people often meet at tea houses for dates. Especially, the Guangdong (Cantonese) style teahouses are very famous abroad, such as in New York, San Francisco, etc. These tea houses not only serve tea, but also dim sum (点心), people can eat different kinds of food when they drink tea. People call these kinds of tea houses “茶楼, chálou”.
Japan
In
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese tradition a tea house can refer to a structure designed for holding
Japanese tea ceremoniesThe , or "the Way of Tea," is the ceremonial preparation and presentation of the powdered green tea known as matcha. The tea ceremony is highly ritualized and the manner in which it is performed or the art of its performance is known as . Zen Buddhism was integral to the ceremony's development,...
. This structure and specifically the room in it where the tea ceremony takes place is called
chashitsu (茶室). The architectural space called
chashitsu was created for aesthetic and intellectual fulfillment.
In Japan a tea house can also refer to a place of entertainment with
geisha, or are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
. These kinds of tea houses, called
ochaya (お茶屋), are typically very exclusive establishments. The most notable
ochaya is the
Ichiriki OchayaThe Ichiriki Ochaya is one of the most famous and historic Ochaya in Kyoto, Japan...
.
Tajikistan
There are many tea houses in
TajikistanTajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and People's Republic of China to the east...
. The largest tea-houses are Orient Tea house or Chinese Tea house, Orom Tea house in (
IsfaraIsfara is a city in Sughd Province in northern Tajikistan, situated on the border with Kyrgyzstan. It has a population of 40,600 . The city is capital of Isfara district.-History:...
) town. On the 15th anniversary of Independence in Tajikistan, the people of
IsfaraIsfara is a city in Sughd Province in northern Tajikistan, situated on the border with Kyrgyzstan. It has a population of 40,600 . The city is capital of Isfara district.-History:...
town presented Isfara Tea house to Kulyab city for its 2700th anniversary on September 2006.
Egypt
In Egypt, coffee houses are called 'ahwa' and combine serving coffee as well as
teaTea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods...
and
tisaneA herbal tea, tisane, or ptisan is an herbal infusion made from anything other than the leaves of the tea bush , which originates from both China and the Middle East.-Etymology:...
s. Tea is called "shai", and coffee is also called "ahwa". Finally,
tisaneA herbal tea, tisane, or ptisan is an herbal infusion made from anything other than the leaves of the tea bush , which originates from both China and the Middle East.-Etymology:...
s as karkade is also highly popular.
Germany
In Germany, tea house (also called Teehaus) was famous during the Third Reich era where the German Dictator
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
used to have his daily walk and tea at a Teehaus on Mooslahnerkopf hill near his residence
BerghofBerghof or Berghoff may refer to:* Herbert Berghof, acting teaching* Berghof , Adolf Hitler's home in the mountains of Bavaria* Berghof/America Inc.* Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management...
, in the Bavarian Alps. Hitler's tea house was a round cylindrical structure built in the woods where Hitler, his close friends, party colleagues and secretaries used to have their daily afternoon walk followed by tea. Tea was Adolf Hitler's favorite drink during his reign.
It seems having a separate tea house was a culture in many countries in Europe.
Britain and British colonies
In the U.K., Canada and the U.S., a tearoom is a small room or restaurant where beverages and light meals are served, often catering chiefly to women and having a sedate or subdued atmosphere. A customer might expect to receive
cream teaA Cream tea, Devonshire tea or Cornish cream tea is tea taken with a combination of scones, clotted cream , and jam....
or Devonshire tea, often served from a
chinaPorcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
set, and a
sconeThe scone is a small British quickbread of Scottish origin. Scones are especially popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada, but are eaten in many other countries. They are usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent...
with jam and
clotted creamClotted cream is a thick yellow cream made by heating unpasteurized cow's milk and then leaving it in shallow pans for several hours. During this time, the cream content rises to the surface and forms clots....
– alternatively a High tea may be served. In
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
teas are usually served with a variety of scones,
pancakeA pancake is a thin, flat cake prepared from a batter and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side. A crêpe is a very thin and...
s, (Scottish)
crumpetA crumpet is a savoury/sweet bread snack made from flour and yeast. It is eaten mainly in the United Kingdom and other nations of the Commonwealth.- Etymology :...
s and other cakes.
Thomas TwiningTwinings is a marketer of tea based in Andover, Hampshire, England.The first of ten generations of Twinings, founder Thomas Twining opened the first known tea room, at 216 Strand, London, in 1706, still operating today. The firm's logo, created in 1787, is thought to be the world's oldest in...
opened the first known tea room in 1706, which remains at 216
Strand, LondonThe Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length has been longer than this...
today. In 1787 the company created its logo, still in use today, which is thought to be the world's oldest commercial logo that has been in continuous use since its inception. Under
Associated British FoodsAssociated British Foods plc is a British multinational food, ingredients and retail group with sales of £8.235 billion and over 96,000 employees in 44 countries. It is headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
since 1964, Stephen Twining now represents the company's ten generations. In 2006, Twinings celebrated its 300th anniversary, with a special tea, and associated tea caddies. Twining's is a
Royal WarrantRoyal Warrants of Appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
holder (appointed by HM The Queen).
There is a long tradition of tea rooms within London hotels, for example, Browns hotel which has been serving tea in its tea room for over 170 years.
The popularity of the tearoom rose as an alternative to the pub during the
temperance movementA temperance movement is a social movement against the use of Alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence, or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation....
in the 1830s. The form developed in the late 1800s, as
Catherine CranstonCatherine Cranston , widely known as Kate Cranston or Miss Cranston, was a leading figure in the development of the social phenomenon of tea rooms...
opened the first of what became a chain of
Miss Cranston's Tea Rooms in
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland, and similar establishments became popular throughout Scotland. In the 1880s fine hotels in both the United States and England began to offer tea service in tea rooms and tea courts, and by 1910 they had begun to host afternoon tea dances as dance crazes swept both the U.S. and the UK. Tea rooms of all kinds were widespread in Britain by the 1950s, but in the following decades cafés became more fashionable, and tea rooms became less common.
In a related usage, a tearoom may be a room set aside in a workplace for workers to relax and (specifically) take refreshment during work-breaks. Traditionally a staff member serving food and beverages in such a tearoom would have been called a
tea ladyA tea lady is a woman in an office or working environment, whose sole job is to provide beverages and light snacks during the allocated tea break. Tea ladies are a mainly British custom...
.
Elsewhere
Around the world, the term "tea house" or "tea room" may be used to refer to a restaurant or
Salon de Thé. They are also present in the Middle East, notably in
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
and
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
. Such tea-houses may be referred to as "Chaee-Khaneh" - literally, the 'house of tea'. These tea houses usually serve several beverages, (tea, coffee), and some serve
HookahA hookah , nargile in Turkish or shisha is a single or multi-stemmed water pipe for smoking shisha . Originally from India, hookah has gained immense popularity, especially in the Middle East and is gaining popularity in the USA, UK, and elsewhere...
. Notable institutions include New York's venerable
Russian Tea RoomThe Russian Tea Room is a restaurant in New York City, located at 150 West 57th Street between Carnegie Hall Tower and Metropolitan Tower.-History:...
, and Glasgow's
Willow TearoomsThe Willow Tearooms are tearooms at 217 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, Scotland, designed by internationally renowned architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which opened for business in October 1903...
and Tchai-Ovna.
"Tea house" may also be used synonymously (or confused) with "tea room", a gay slang term referring to a venue where public sex occurs.
See also
- Cha can ting
- Coffee house
- Nakamal - a similar house where kava
Kava is an ancient crop of the western Pacific. Other names for kava include awa , 'ava , yaqona , and sakau . The word kava is used to refer both to the plant and the beverage produced from its roots...
is drunk
- Tea ceremony
A tea ceremony is a ritualised form of making tea. The term generally refers to the Japanese tea ceremony. One can also refer to the whole set of rituals, tools, gestures, etc. used in such ceremonies as tea culture...
- Tea culture
Tea culture is defined by the way tea is made and consumed, by the way the people interact with tea, and by the aesthetics surrounding tea drinking....
- Tea garden
A tea garden was a place to drink tea and stroll around lawns, ponds and view statues. These smaller versions of pleasure gardens flourished in the late 18th century...
- Yum cha
Yum cha is a term in Cantonese which means "drinking tea". It now refers to the dining experience of eating small servings of different foods, e.g., dim sum, while sipping Chinese tea in Cantonese speaking areas of southern China. It is an integral part of the culinary culture of Guangdong...
- :Category:Tea houses
External links