Being the most consumed beverage after water, tea plays an important role in day today life of billions of tea lovers around the world. This wonderful beverage provides refreshment, stimulation, relaxation and priceless health benefits to the mankind. In order to recognize tea, UN names a day as “International Tea Day”. This year we celebrated it on 15th December. But as Masterstalk had reported, At its formal meeting on November 26, the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly approved a resolution which stipulates the annual celebration of International Tea Day on May 21. The draft project resolution was approved by 118 votes, with 3 against and 45 abstentions.

The month of May was proposed for celebrating International Tea Day as it’s the quality tea manufacturing season in most tea producing countries. In temperate regions like China, Darjeeling, Japan etc. spring crop is harvested in late March to April. The quality of spring flushes (specially the 1st flush) is extremely high since those are the flushes emerge after few months of dormancy during winter and early spring. During this dormant period, chemical matter available in tea (Polyphenls, Theanines, Alkaloids etc) are concentrated. These teas are entering to the foreign market place by May.

The document, in particular, notes that tea production and manufacturing is the main source of livelihoods for millions of families, it contributes to the battle against hunger, the reduction of extreme poverty, the empowerment of women and the sustainable utilization of terrestrial ecosystems. It is also noted that drinking tea can be good for health and has cultural and educational potential. The resolution calls for the promotion of tea consumption, especially in tea growing nations, where its per-capita consumption is relatively low (Exception: Turkey), and counteracting the reduction in tea consumption in traditional buying nations. International Tea Day can be one way of addressing these challenges.

The revised draft resolution can be found at: https://undocs.org/A/C.2/74/L.6/Rev.1

So let’s get ready to celebrate this noble day in six months time with our loving ones / partners. Cheers !

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References

1. Original Post: https://masterstalk.online/2019/12/17/the-un-approves-the-celebration-of-international-tea-day-on-may-21/
2. Tea & Herbal Association of Canada: https://www.tea.ca/