Tea is the second most popular drink on earth after
water, and the art of preparing tea stretches many thousands of years into the
past. It's a delightful and mystical beverage. From only two types of plants
(tea sinensis and tea assamica), depending on where and how it's cultivated and
how it's processed and prepared, tea is now available in an almost unending
variety of aromas and flavours.
No matter whether it's morning, midday or
evening – it should always be the right time for a cup of tea. Savour it, relax
and unwind. The time is always right for moments like these. The great Chinese
thinker T’ien Yi-heng already put it in the following words thousands of years
ago: "Tea is drunk in order to forget the clamour of the world." In addition to
that, in 1780 the German poet, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing wrote: "Whether I will
be alive tomorrow, I certainly don't know. But were I to live tomorrow, I would
doubtlessly drink tea."
It was the very fast and narrow tea clipper
ships, that in the 19th century brought each new tea harvest to Europe and
America. Clipper ship names such as "Sea Cloud" or "Sea Witch" were highly
regarded in connoisseur circles. The best quality teas from Simon Brown bear the
names of some of the famous tea clippers. Two well-known ships from Simon
Brown's fleet were the "Noble Eagle" and the "Ocean Dream".
