Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of various species of plants, some originating on Earth, some in the Acheron Rho sector, and some being a combination of the two. There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have vastly different profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral or grassy notes.
Tea originated on Earth, and was brought to Acheron Rho by the first settlers. It is believed that there was a vibrant sector-wide tea culture before the Scream, but most of such knowledge has been lost. After the scream, most planets in the Empire forgot or abandoned the principles of quality tea cultivation, except for Aomori where the production and consumption of tea became a linchpin of House Reticulum cuisine and culture. After the reconstruction of the empire, tea culture spread, and thrived in particularly on the Cabina Frontier, grown by sects and lay people of the Repentant Faith.
Currently, the overwhelming majority of tea production and distribution in Acheron Rho is divided between the House Reticulum family brands, the SERAPH affiliated Cabina Cups Tea Company, and ACRE Tea BRICKs. Recently, House Pyxis has entered the sector wide market as a fourth player as it has begun to export its own Tea Pyxidis brand sector wide, but its market share is still very small compared to that of the older, more established brands. In addition, many planets and houses produce their own unique varieties of tea, available locally or via a very select few specialist retailers.
History of Tea in Acheron Rho[]
Pre-Scream[]
Tea originated on Earth, and was brought to Acheron Rho by the first settlers. It is believed that there was a vibrant sector-wide tea culture before the Scream, but most of such knowledge has been lost.
Post-Scream[]
After the Scream, most planets in the Empire forgot or abandoned the principles of quality tea cultivation, except for Aomori where the production and consumption of tea became a linchpin of House Reticulum cuisine and culture. As sector-wide trade and communication recovered, enterprising Reticulum nobles began to expand their tea production and export under their own family brands.
In the early 30th century, during the Second Civil War, ACRE introduced its Tea BRICKs brand and quickly became the sector's largest tea exporter in tonnage. At the end of the same century, tea cultivation was brought to Cabina by Reticulum converts to the Church of Humanity Repentant, and quickly spread across the Cabina Frontier. In the 31st century, this culminated in the founding of the Cabina Cups Tea Company.
More recently, in the 32nd century, House Pyxis nobles have founded the Tea Pyxidis Company and begun to introduce their own uniquely Pyxis tea blends to the sector-wide market.
Tea in Acheron Rho Today[]
Today, the three premier brands of tea in Acheron Rho are Reticulum family brands tea, Cabina Cups, and Eridanii Tea Hexahedrons (aka T-Hexes). Among the three, T-Hexes--the spiritual successors to ACRE's Tea BRICKs--are the most ubiquitous sector-wide, and the go-to tea for those who are either poor or just don’t know anything about tea. Those who do know anything about tea are painfully aware that T-Hexahedrons contain, at best, 1% of actual tea. T-Hexes, Gourmet Deluxe Edition, are accurately marketed as containing 100% more tea, containing a stellar 2% of actual tea. Compared to its three older rivals, Tea Pyxidis is still a niche player in the sector tea market, though its share has been growing slowly but steadily since its founding.
Tea aficionados in the sector are primarily divided between whether Reticulum family brands or Cabina Cups has the superior catalog, with a small minority swearing by Tea Pyxidis. The only thing that all sides agree on is that T-Hexes would taste better if the bricks went straight into the bin and you just drank boiling water instead. The Eridanii manufacturers of T-Hexes often respond to such criticism with coupons for Fizzy Cheese, Tea & Biscuits Flavor.
Tea Cultivation on Aomori[]
- See also: Types of Aomori Tea
Very few of the native flora of Aomori are actually safe for human consumption in their natural forms. Any food or drink that relies upon this native plant life typically uses a domesticated or highly fermented version of the plant. As a result, the fermented black teas became highly popular among serfs on Aomori for its health benefits and ease of brewing. Their fermented nature also allows these teas to keep on transport ships without the use of preservatives.
Unfermented green teas, or the semi-fermented teas, are almost exclusively reserved for nobles on Aomori. This is due to the fact that the brewing process and care for these plants is kept secret. Tea leaves of this type also do not keep without special handling on trips.
Tea in the Reticulum culture is a staple for most of its nobility. Primarily served during meetings between friends, and especially when one is meeting for business for the first time, offering tea to a fellow noble, Reticulum or not, is a sign of good-faith and prosperity. It is considered extremely rude or bad luck to turn down a cup of tea without going through a rather lengthy process of excuse-making.
To the extent that tea is important in Reticulum culture, it is tradition even among serfs or freemen to take a romantic interest to a tea house as a first date. The ability of a non-noble to afford tea of any kind can show a level of social status even among the poorest.
Popular tea's on Aomori are those made of the native Hibiscus-like flowering plants that dot the main islands, as well as semi-fermented tea that is actually a byproduct of the orchards which produce the blue fruit that the drink, arrack, is fermented of. Lippia Alba tea is a favorite among the serfs.
Export[]
The majority of tea production on Aomori is done for local or private use. Most noble families will produce enough tea only for their own consumption and as gifts for personal friends and guests. Only a handful of families produce larger quantities meant for trade and export. While each of these families have their own brand name attached to their produce, the sector at large generally labels them all as Reticulum family brands tea, with only the true tea aficionados able and interested in distinguishing the merits and tastes of the differing family brands. Due to House Reticulum’s culture of perfectionism, even the most widely produced tea is only grown in small batches, and sector-wide Reticulum family brands tea tend to only be available in limited supply in specialized shops, or to people with close personal connections to House Reticulum nobles.
Tea Cultivation on Cabina[]
- See also: Cabina Cups Tea
Amongst the original settlers to Cabina, following its ecosystem collapse due to bombardment of the planet by the Blood Eagle fleet, was a sect of the CHR made up of former House Reticulum nobles. Calling themselves the “Cult of the Plow” they believed themselves guilty for having supplied weapons to the Blood Eagle army, and wished to repent by never again producing anything that could harm or kill.
This sect was amongst the first to settle not in the newly founded major cities, but out in the desolate wastes of the Cabina Frontier. After much efforts, they were the first who pioneered techniques that successfully refertilised Cabina’s polluted soil enough for the growing of proper crops. Being made up of former Reticulum nobles, they naturally choose tea as their crop of choice to plant.
From these humble beginnings, tea cultivation spread to be a mainstay of the Cabina frontier and Cabina culture in general. After a hundred years, the Cult of the Plow was dissolved and its last members became part of the founding board of the Cabina Cups Tea Company, a new nondenominational enterprise headed by the CHR that would serve as a middleman between local Cabina tea artisans and communities and consumers in the sector at large.
Since the dissolution of the CHR, Cabina Cups has become a founding and major member of the new charitable conglomerate, SERAPH.
Cabina Cups has an assortment of hundreds of flavors, reflecting the hundreds of local Cabina tea artisans that supply the company's stocks. Some popular blends are: Minty Repentance, Governor's Delight, Tai Mo's Rosemary, Cabina Starset, Cah-Binn Bravery, Chrates Chai, and Smoky Sunburn.
Export[]
Cabina Cups Tea buys the raw tea leaves from the thousands of local Cabina tea-producing communities, bags it in processing facilities in the Cabina capital of Lux Gravare, and then ships it to customers and retailers sector-wide. However, due to the decentralized and artisanal scales of Cabina tea production, supplies are limited. While more widely available than Reticulum family brands tea, retailers or individual customers will generally need to have some connection or business contacts with the local Repentant community in order to be able to secure shipments of Cabina Cups.
ACRE Tea Cultivation[]
In 2903 during the Second Imperial Civil War, Generals were faced with a unique problem. How can officers make a good cup of tea while in the middle of an intense firefight? Leaving a tea bag in your cup for minutes hoping it can steep long enough to make a good cup of tea before an artillery barrage knocks it over was not a good situation.
Enter ACRE Tea BRICKs (Brewed Refined and Infused with Care and Know-how), a brand of tea concentrate bricks also known colloquially as Tea Cubes. Placing one thumbnail-sized cube into a liter of water will produce a liter of tea in about 15 seconds. First used as a combat ration, Tea Cubes formed the backbone of the civilised serf’s daily routine. Some factories have been known to have a Tea Cube be included in the Food Chit’s given as payment for a day’s labor. Research is still under review if providing tea gives any discernible change in productivity or if it is an unnecessary expenditure.
Flavors included: Black, Green, Grey, White, and Red. A common lunchtime conversation between ACRE workers might go as follows: “What flavor tea did you get?” “I got the red one.”
Export[]
Like all ACRE products, ACRE Tea BRICKs were shipped sector-wide on massive industrial scales, and in most places it would be harder to find a tea shop that did not sell BRICKs than to find one that does.
Tea Hexahedrons[]
House Eridanus seized A.C.R.E.’s assets in late 3200 and continued the production of ACRE Tea BRICKs, but under a new brand name. Tea Hexahedrons (also known as “T-Hexes”) are highly processed cubes of tea concentrate produced for mass consumption by cooperating high companies. Regulated by the Acti Mehar, T-Hexes are the spiritual successors to A.C.R.E. Tea BRICKs. They come in similar color-coded flavors, but with red notably missing. Rumors abound that in their last moments A.C.R.E. sabotaged and tainted some of the Tea processing facilities and compromised the red color during the STO Conflict. However, more simply point to the Eridanii taboos regarding the color red.
House Pyxis Tea Cultivation[]
- See also: Tea Pyxidis
House Pyxis is a newcomer as a noble house, having only been around for 80 years. In those 80 years, however, Pyxis nobles have begun to have their own revival of tea cultivation and consumption. On their constant voyages of exploration, Pyxis nobles routinely investigate discover what plants work in a manner that would make for a good, or at least edible, food or drink. Around 40 years ago, a group of tea-loving Pyxis nobles founded the Tea Pyxidis Company, for the purpose of both profit and to share Pyxis tea discoveries with the sector at large.
Most prominent in House Pyxis is the type of tea known as Star Tea. It can be made with any kind of tea leaves, as it is the process, not the blend, that makes a tea into Star Tea. Star Tea, however, is a tea common to all travellers and not exclusive to House Pyxis or the Tea Pyxidis Company. However, since the revival of tea cultivation and consumption within House Pyxis, enterprising Pyxis nobles have discovered a variety of new tea types. Some famous examples are Soiléir Leaf Tea, Fermented Soiléir Leaf Tea, Aardvark Cuma Tea, and Traxium Tea.
Export[]
The details of how the Tea Pyxidis Company produces its tea are not public knowledge. Amongst tea aficionado's it is a topic of hot debate whether Tea Pyxidis is the result of cultivation, or if all its leaves are harvested directly from the wild. The reality is that both answers are correct. The Tea Pyxidis Company has one factory that all their tea come from, and the majority of that factory’s stock is delivered to it by dedicated tea plantations. However, a minority of its tea leaves are still hand-gathered from the wild. As a result, there is always at least one packet of leaves that tastes a tiny bit wilder than anything else in the box.
As a whole, the Tea Pyxidis Company is very much a newcomer on the tea market, and it is only able to produce a very limited supply of tea each year. To ensure that its orders always match that year’s harvest, the company only sells its stock once a year. At that time, tea retailers and aficionado's are able to make their order from the tea produced and stocked by the company over the preceding year. Once the stock has been sold, it’s gone, and interested buyers are out of luck till the next year’s stock goes up for sale. Orders from those who are from Pyxis, or otherwise have close connections to House Pyxis are given priority, and as a result only those individuals and retailers can boast of a reliable supply of Tea Pyxidis year round.
Tiberian Tea Production[]
- See also: [[Types of Tiberian Tea|Types of Tiberian Tea]]
As a largely tropical planet, Tiber is ideal for the cultivation of various species of tea plants. Additionally, its native flora has proved to contain a number of indigenous plants suitable for tea beyond those brought to Tiber during the initial colonization. Thanks to sharing the same system with Aomori, and thus never being out of communication with the Reticulum homeworld, tea cultivation on Tiber never truly died out following the Scream, as it did in the rest of the sector. However, thanks in part due to a cultural preference for coffee, the Eridanii of Tiber never developed a tea culture as rich and distinctive as the Reticulum on Aomori.
This mixed blessing of sharing the system with Aomori has given Tiber both a long history of tea cultivation and an almost equally long history of being influenced and over-shadowed by the tea culture of their noble siblings. Most successful Tiberian tea plantations were started by Reticulum nobles who married into House Eridanus. They managed to achieve a compromise between their traditional Reticulum sense of refinement and a newfound Eridanii sense of efficiency and scale.
Though the more proud Eridanii will claim Tiberian teas to be the sector’s superior tea product, few tea connoisseurs outside of the house would agree. The main benefit of Tiberian teas is that they are produced at a scale vastly greater than most other luxury brands, without being as watered down as A.C.R.E. tea products. To most consumers in the sector, Tiberian tea brands are the brands you get when you technically could afford better, but would rather drink five cups that are good enough than one cup that tastes better but is gone before lunch.
Five main varieties are grown on the planet: Types_of_Tiber_Tea#Tieguanyin_.28Iron_Goddess_of_Mercy.29 Tieguanyin (Iron Goddess of Mercy), Types_of_Tiber_Tea#Tiberian_Eclipse Tiberian Eclipse, Types_of_Tiber_Tea#Tiber_Breakfast_Tea Tiber Breakfast Tea, Types_of_Tiber_Tea#Schwarzschild.27s_Onyx_Raven Schwarzschild's Onyx Raven, and Types_of_Tiber_Tea#Gold_Fortune Gold Fortune.
Export[]
Tiberian teas are shipped off-world through the major shipping organizations such as Stordiz Shipping Company Teas from Tiber's sister planet, Aomori, are much more famous, having the care and craft of House Reticulum, but the scale of production on Tiber has given the Eridanii a sizable share of the tea market in the sector.
Local and House Tea[]
Vela Tea Varieties[]
Vela has its traditional teas for festivals and feasts. Varget Leaf Tea is a relaxing tea that can be used when having feasts. It helps calm the nerves of people. It has a slight bitter taste to it but it helps with the digestion of foods. Originating from the home planet of the Vela, Haqani, it's been used for many centuries as a celebration tea.
Trilliant Tea[]
The Trilliant Ring produces a tea branded as 'Amrita Chai.' With tea leaves harvested from plants grown exclusively in Trilliant Ring biodomes to ensure the highest quality and richest flavor, Amrita Chai steeps a brilliant gold and tastes of rare restored Earth spices - saffron and cinnamon.