East Frisian tea culture

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tea with cream

The East Frisian tea culture developed over time due to the great importance that drinking tea enjoys in East Frisia . The Teetied ( East Frisian flat , for: tea time) or the East Frisian tea ceremony is an important part of East Frisian conviviality and East Frisian cuisine .

On average, every East Frisian drank around 300 liters of tea in 2016, which was roughly eleven times the German average. This means that the East Frisians have the world's largest per capita tea consumption. They typically drink Ostfriesentee , a mixture mainly of Assam varieties that makes a very dark, strong tea.

The East Frisian tea culture has been recognized as an intangible cultural heritage in Germany. In December 2016, the German UNESCO Commission included them in the nationwide directory of intangible cultural heritage .

history

Before the introduction of drinking tea brewed in the country was beer tea the main drink, but repelled this a cheaper strong. However, it had to be imported. This was also the reason for temporary government efforts to suppress the consumption of tea. It was hoped that by promoting beer consumption, large sums of money would be prevented from flowing abroad. However, such efforts were unsuccessful.

The beginnings of East Frisian tea culture go back to the early 17th century. Around 1610 ships of the Dutch East India Company brought tea to Europe for the first time . Soon afterwards, East Frisian boatmen who drove on Dutch account were likely to have brought tea to East Frisia for the first time. Around 1675, however, tea was initially only administered as medicine. Around 1720 there was already an extensive tea trade in East Frisia.

The enjoyment of tea spread in the late 18th century - around the same time as the spread of the potato as a staple food - throughout East Frisia and was initially promoted by Frederick II . After the failure of the Royal Prussian-Asiatic Compagnie (East Asian Trading Company ) in Emden, he tried from 1768 to wean the East Frisians from drinking tea, which they have since become cherished. This dispute with the estates , which lasted until around 1780 , is also known as the "tea war". For example, during this time, in 1778, the Royal Prussian Police Directorate in Aurich issued a decree in which it said that drinking tea wasted money and tax revenues and caused damage to the state. It was suggested to drink lemon balm or some kind of parsley instead of the "herb" from China. They also called for more beer to be brewed, as the ingredients were grown in sufficient quantities in their own country. In East Friesland, people reacted to the law with increased smuggling, civil disobedience and clandestine tea drinking. The East Frisian estates wrote a letter on May 11, 1779, in which they stated: “The use of tea and coffee is so general and so deeply rooted in this country that human nature would have to be reversed by a creative force if it were to do so Drinks should say good night all at once. ”After another two years, the King of Prussia, frustrated, gave up his plan and allowed his East Frisian subjects to enjoy the“ Chinese dragon poison ”again.

During the Napoleonic continental barrier (1806-1814), the East Frisians again operated extensive smuggling operations in order to continue to ensure the supply of tea.

From the beginning of the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th century, the large East Frisian tea trading houses Bünting (1806) , Thiele (1873) and Onno Behrends (1886) , which still exist today, were founded. The Bünting Group is now one of the largest employers in East Frisia.

In the 20th century, in connection with the two world wars, there were again "teenage times" in East Frisia. In the course of the First World War , tea, which had been highly taxed since 1909, became increasingly scarce. In 1917 the bottlenecks were most severe. Until 1919, outdated or otherwise inferior items also dominated the trade.

During the Second World War, too, the East Frisians initially received 20 grams per month per adult (from the age of 35) due to the shortage of foreign exchange. In the course of the war the ration was increased to 30 grams, which still seemed too low for the East Frisians, the pre-war consumption was about ten times as much (300 grams per month per adult). This was still a privilege, and in the rest of the Reich such an allocation for such a “dispensable luxury item” was not provided at all.

The East Frisians received their monthly tea rations on food stamps. The stamps read "Tea Drinkers District Weser-Ems", which corresponded to the National Socialist Gau Weser-Ems. The East Frisians also made do with "tea tablets" made from flavorings and sugar, but were soon deeply angry about the near withdrawal of their favorite drink.

Immediately after World War II, a hamster era began. East Frisians drove to the Ruhr area to trade miners 'hard workers' tea allowances for bacon, butter or eggs. Conversely, the wives of miners, the "Teewiefkes", especially from Westphalia, came to East Friesland with tea from special rations for miners for this exchange. After the currency reform and the founding of the state, it took until 1953 for the tea tax to be reduced to a tolerable level and for the people in the region to be able to afford as much tea as they wanted again.

Teaware

East Frisian tea set: Blue Dresmer
East Frisian tea set: Rood Dresmer

The trading activities of the Dutch East India Company also brought porcelain to Europe. Porcelain vessels proved to be particularly suitable for the preparation of tea and as a drinking vessel. Soon the demand for porcelain was so great that other countries began to import porcelain.

After East Frisia fell to Prussia, King Frederick the Great founded the Emden East Asian Trading Company in Emden , which imported a large number of porcelain vessels and tea of ​​considerable commercial value in the short period of its existence. You can still find some original Chinese porcelain from this period today. The Far Eastern manufacturers adapted the vessels to the European taste as the volume of trade increased.

In 1709, however, porcelain was made in Germany for the first time thanks to the invention of Johann Friedrich Böttger and Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus in Dresden . In the course of time, more and more porcelain vessels were made in the country itself, with the manufacturers based on Asian models in terms of shape and design.

In East Friesland, crockery from the Wallendorf porcelain factory was particularly popular. This so-called Dresmer Teegood (Dresdner tea set) was available in two typical designs: a blue painting ( Blau Dresmer ) and the well-known red rose ( Rood Dresmer ). Other designs were known, but were not as popular.

Such a tea set comprised a tea caddy ( Teebüss / e ), jug ( Treckpott ) and cups ( Koppen, Kopkes ) and earlier also a rinsing bowl ( Spölkummke ) in which the Koppkes were briefly rinsed before refilling - no sieves were used yet. Originally, the cups did not have handles as they are used today, and saucers were also still unknown.

Partly in East Friesland itself, partly outside, but especially for East Friesland, teaspoons were later designed and tea scoops, cream spoons and sugar tongs were produced with which the Kluntje (candy candy) is put into the cup, as they are still common today. There were also the occasional teapots and tea and sugar bowls made of silver.

The mentioned decorations of the tea sets, applied to thin-walled, ribbed porcelain cups and the associated teapots, tea caddies, etc. as well as the above-mentioned spoons are still available today, although the manufacturers changed variously over the years. In contrast to the past, today's teacups have handles and are served on a saucer ( Schöttelke ), and the tea is poured through a sieve that holds back the tea leaves.

The Teetied or the East Frisian tea ceremony

Even today it is still customary in East Frisia to offer a guest a cup of tea on arrival. It does not matter whether the reason for the visit is a stay of several days or just a short errand. It is the East Frisian way of welcoming guests. This tradition is not only cultivated by the locals, but also often adopted by newcomers.

The Teetied is also celebrated outside of East Frisia. The tea ceremony is also cultivated by many exiled East Frisians and friends of East Frisia. Since the drinking water in East Frisia does not run through layers of limestone in the ground, it is softer than in the rest of Germany.

equipment

East Frisian tea
Frisian tea with a cloud of cream
Cream spoon
Tea strainer
Kluntje

Very small, wafer-thin porcelain cups are most suitable. The teapot can, but does not have to be, made of porcelain. A warmer is indispensable.

Preparation and enjoyment of the tea

Correctly prepared tea is essential for the Teetied.

First, boiling water is poured into the teapot and the pot is rinsed out with it. This warms them up. Next, the measured East Frisian tea is poured into the warm pot. A common formula is: one teaspoon of tea per covered cup and another "for the pot". The jug is then half filled with boiling water. The tea is left to steep for about three to four minutes with the lid closed. Finally, the teapot is completely filled and the tea is ready. The tea can now be poured through a sieve into a serving jug to prevent tea leaves from getting into the cups. Alternatively, the tea remains in the already filled pot, in this case a hand strainer or a strainer installed in the pot spout is used.

Before pouring, put a Kluntje, a large piece of brown or white rock sugar, into the cup. The tea is now poured into the teacups on the Kluntje. Here the Kluntje begins to crackle characteristic. Then add a drop of cream ( "'n Wulkje Rohm" ) with a cream spoon ( Rohmlepel ) . Usually, the cream is carefully poured into the rim of the cup so that a "cream cloud" can arise - just "'n Wulkje" . Originally cream was used (hence the Low German word "Rohm"), which settled on freshly milked, untreated milk after a long period of standing. In the course of advancing industrialization, which also did not stop at agriculture in East Frisia, this tradition disappeared more and more, and instead the tea was refined with cream. Traditionally, it is stirred in counter-clockwise to symbolically stop the time.

The tea is traditionally drunk without stirring, so that first the milky tea taste on the edge of the cup, then the tart tea aroma in the middle of the cup and finally the sweetness of the sugared tea on the base of the cup. This process stems from the fact that in the past people wanted to use the expensive Kluntje for as long as possible (over several cups of tea). Stirring would have led to the unintentionally rapid dissolution. Even today, tea connoisseurs counter this argument by stating that, on the one hand, the tea gets too much sweetness from being stirred and the large Kluntje, and on the other hand, the aforementioned "layering" of the flavors is lost.

For every participant in a tea round, three cups are a minimum - if it is rejected beforehand, it is rude to offensive. By placing the cup upside down on the saucer or by placing the spoon in the cup, you signal that no further refills are desired.

The main tea time is afternoon tea at around 3 p.m. The East Frisian tea culture also includes the short tea break in the morning ( Elführungsje ) at around 11 a.m. In many families there is also an additional evening tea at around 9 p.m. In the past, a pot of tea was set up first for newly arrived guests, even outside of these fixed tea times, a tradition that is still found in many East Frisian households today.

Statue Teelke

Statue of "Teelke" in Leer by Karl-Ludwig Böke (1927–1996)

The importance of East Frisian tea culture is expressed in museums (such as the East Frisian Tea Museum in the north) and the statue of Teelke in Leer , which was erected in memory of East Frisian culture. The bronze statue of a young woman carries the utensils of the Teetied - teacup and teapot - in her hands and shows the visitor that he is in a tea town. The statue was donated by the Bünting tea trading company based in Leer and is not far from the company's headquarters. It was created in 1991 by the artist Karl-Ludwig Böke from Leer . The name of the statue is not an artificial creation from the word "tea", but a common name of East Frisian origin .

Other tea cultures

Other cultures have also developed special customs for enjoying tea. The oldest tea culture is the Chinese tea culture, which is over 2,000 years old . The Japanese adopted this and developed their special tea ceremony from it . Tea came to Europe in the 17th century through the British, who in turn developed their own tea culture .

literature

Web links

Commons : Tea drinking in East Frisia  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ German Tea Association: Tea as an economic factor (as of April 2017) ( Memento from August 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 11.0 MB) p. 2, accessed on August 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ Ostfriesentee and Blueprint are cultural heritage at ndr.de from December 9, 2016.
  3. ↑ 34 Forms of culture newly included in the German register of intangible cultural heritage: East Frisian tea culture at: German UNESCO Commission of December 9, 2016.
  4. ↑ Haddinga, pp. 21-24.
  5. ↑ Haddinga, pp. 35-39.
  6. ↑ Wolfgang Hase: Tea for East Friesland: the "Royal Prussian Asian Company" .
  7. ↑ Der Spiegel of April 7, 1980: Mutten wi died
  8. ↑ Quotation and original spelling from Haddinga p. 39.
  9. ↑ Haddinga, pp. 41-43.
  10. ↑ Haddinga, pp. 9-10.
  11. ↑ die-teeseite.de: The tea in modern times
  12. ↑ Nordwestreisemagazin.de: "Liberté" or rather tea
  13. ↑ Haddinga, pp. 16-17.
  14. ↑ deutsche-fehnroute.de .
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on April 23, 2007 .