Posted: May 05, 2000 at 08:33:16: by RobRoy
: At the start of LotR it mentions that Frodo was having a cup of tea to calm his nerves after dealing with all the hobbits collecting the stuff Bilbo had left them as well as the Sackville-Bagginses trying to bully him into selling Bag End at a knock-down price. Personally, I think I might have had something stronger from Lobelia's desription but that's beside the point. I was wondering where Frodo got the tea from what with it being a tropical plant. True tea originally was from eastern Asia, made from the Thea sinesis or Camellia sinensis shrubs. And eastern Asia is hardly a tropical climate. The tea trade was rather brisk in the even before 1500s when it exploded with with the Spanish and Portugese arrival in Asia and Japan. However, tea has come to be made from many different barks, leaves and an assortment of herbs, many of which are also not found in tropical climates. I admit that some designer teas include tropical elements such as orange peels or lemon peels which are tropical plants. But tea does not have to include these items, and thus is not tropical in origin. -RR
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