Tea

Tea, also known as a tisane or infusion, was a common beverage drunk across Faerûn and Kara-Tur. In Wa-an, it was called cha.

Brewing
In Faerûn, teas were commonly brewed by pouring boiling water into a container filled with tea leaves, which were then strained out. In the Shining South, leaves were whisked in a bowl and powdered to make a murky brew, while port cities picked up assorted methods from travelers from other lands. Brewing tea could also involve tea bags (counted among magical laboratory equipment and valued at 1 cp a bag) and tea pots (3 sp).

In Faerûn, tea leaves were typically stored in metal coffers, which had greater value than the cheap tea within. Their lids were sealed air-tight with an edible gum or oil, known as "sticky-rim". Among the poor, tea leaves were often reused. People dried them on a shield in the sun before putting them back in the pot, with a few fresh leaves, to brew them again.

In Kara-Tur, necessary implements for tea making included a dedicated table, a brazier, a kettle, and a tea caddy. These could be family heirlooms and works of art. A simple tea set might be made of bamboo.

Tea in Kara-Tur
Tea was the most common beverage across Kara-Tur, typically enjoyed at the midday meal and in the afternoon, or at breakfast. Tea drinking was elevated to a refined art by the Shou. It was very fashionable among the Kozakuran noble and samurai classes. In Wa, tea and sake were served as refreshments to guests.

Dedicated tea houses could be found in Shou Lung, Kozakura, and Wa. Wa also had tea gardens and tea rooms in noble houses.

There were a great many variations. Most folk had it plain, but the nomads added milk and sugar, and even made it into a soup. In Wa, a green tea broth was used for serving soba noodles.

Tea in Faerûn
In Faerûn, homegrown teas were largely tisanes or infusions of herbs and the leaves of various different plants, rather than proper "tea" plants. These were made from local wild plants, picked by country folk and their children as needed. Hence, they varied widely and travelers expected tea to taste different from place to place. Actual teas were only easy to get in rich cities, such as Athkatla and Calimport, where clubs of tea-fanciers paid highly for them.

Tea was a common beverage, usually served to quench thirst in restaurants or as a non-alcoholic beverage at social functions, or enjoyed as an afternoon snack. It was always served plain; milk was never used but sugar might be added. An afternoon tea could be enjoyed with fruitcakes or crackers.

Medicinal herbs could be taken by brewing them as a tea, such as for dathlil. A balm made from tea leaves was a common salve for open wounds; it had no real effect.

Trade
In Shou Lung, Shangtou and Keelung were renowned for their fine teas, while much tea was produced in Hungtse province. In Wa, almost every farm included a good number of tea bushes, which were sometimes planted in lines to mark properties and boundaries.

Tea was still a recent introduction to Kozakura by the 1350s DR, but it fast became a key commodity, owing to its popularity among the upper classes. It was cultivated on warm mountain slopes in Miyama Province, but while the volume of production was still small, the land used for tea-growing was increasing.

Shou teas were introduced to Faerûn in the early 1360s DR through Aurora's Emporium, with at least two varieties (Pale Jade and Earth Dragon's Eye) made available for purchase through Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue. Teas from Shou Lung were known for being both invigorating and soothing.

Owing to their strictly local nature, Faerûnian teas were rarely traded far or priced highly. They were traded so little that no authority levied duties on tea commerce, not even by the caravan (only any regular fees for ships docking or wagons entering city gates applied). In fact, dedicated tea traders were even viewed with suspicion, as if they were mad or engaged in something underhanded instead. Because of this, trading coffee was more profitable and popular than tea.

Cost
In Kara-Tur, of tea cost 1 tael. Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue sold the same amount of Pale Jade for 20 gold pieces and Earth Dragon's Eye for 50 gold pieces.

Magic & Ritual
Tea was a possible material component for a shukenja's protection from evil, 10' radius, replacing holy water in tracing a circle on the ground.

The tea ceremony was a vital ritual practiced by nobility and merchants in some lands of Kara-Tur, with the aim of instilling complete calm or demonstrating full and proper courtesy.

Some people read tea leaves as a means of divination. This was used by some members of the silver ladies of Selûne.

Tea Varieties
Some varieties of tea were:
 * Beorunna's cure-all
 * Butter tea
 * Calimport blend tea
 * Earth Dragon's Eye
 * Green tea
 * Long Jing
 * Mallow
 * Mummy's tea
 * Nararoot
 * Pale Jade
 * Sandberry bush
 * Vauge tea
 * West Lake Dragon Well
 * See Category:Teas