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'Leaf It to Tea': Unboxing tea cultures across the archipelago
A new book takes a road less traveled â unraveling the diversity of tea-drinking traditions across the archipelago
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A new book takes a road less traveled ' unraveling the diversity of tea-drinking traditions across the archipelago.
Leaf It To Tea: Exploring the Fascinating Culture of Indonesian Tea and Herbal Infusions by Santhi Serad explores tea-drinking traditions from across the country in detail.
The book, set for February release, discusses many teas ' from the sweet black tea for the sultan at Keraton Dalem Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat in Yogyakarta to the bitter decoction of coffee leaves enjoyed for centuries by the common people of West Sumatra.
Coffee-leaf tea ' called teh kawa daun in the local vernacular ' dates from the early nineteenth century, when the Dutch colonial authority implemented the infamous cultivation system of compulsory planting and sale of cash crops within the archipelago.
'During the Dutch colonial era, the people of West Sumatra were obliged to grow coffee trees and give every single bean of their harvests to the Dutch,' said Santhi, a food scientist who co-founded the Aku Cinta Masakan Indonesia (I Love Indonesian Cooking) movement with William Wongso.
'They used what was left on the plantations: Coffee leaves, and brewed them into a tea.'
In Koto Baru, West Sumatra, Santhi witnessed how the jet-black tea is still part of the residents' daily lives.
In a roadside food stall, the seller boiled the dried coffee leaves in a large saucepan over a fire of cinnamon wood. The consumers slurped the bitter tea accompanied by the glutinous rice snack lamang and a few pieces of durian fruit.
Santhi chronicles the story of teh kawa daun in her book, Leaf It To Tea.
Through the book's 200 pages, she presents the rich history and recipes of tea from Indonesia and abroad.
The book uses a broad definition of tea. It not only covers the beverages made from tea leaves (Camellia sinensis) but also the infusions of other herbs and spices.
'I conceived the book in 2011 after learning about a wide variety of herbal teas. Tea has a long history in Indonesia but it does not get the appreciation it deserves,' Santhi explained.
'People appreciate local coffee beans, but they don't have a similar response to tea. Tea is still considered inferior.'
Santhi's research for the book took her inside Yogyakarta's royal palace, where abdi dalem (court servants) prepare the sultan's tea and coffee at the special kitchen called Gedhong Patehan.
In the back of the Gedhong Patehan courtyard, there is a pair of wells, named Kyai Jolotondo and Nyai Jolotondo. Nyai Jolotondo well, or 'the wife', used to provide water to wash the drinking vessels, while her 'husband's' well provided water to make the drinks. Sadly, Mrs. Jolotondo's well has run dry.
Abdi dalem prepare tea and coffee for the sultan twice a day. They place loose-leaf tea, coffee and sugar on a tray before covering it with a green cloth.
After the sultan enjoys the drink, keparak (female courtiers) will bring the dirty cups and the leftover tea and coffee back to Gedhong Patehan under the shelter of a yellow ceremonial umbrella.
'The kitchen has seven wooden drawers, with each holding teh tubruk [loose-leaf tea], coffee and sugar. Each drawer is locked and labeled with the names of the days of the week. Abdi dalem should only unlock the drawer of the day.'
In Pemalang, Central Java, some residents proudly enjoy teh begug, literally meaning stupid tea.
The tea is processed in a rudimentary fashion, which is considered by some people 'stupid' considering that modern technology for processing tea is readily available.
The residents use leaves from tea trees that grow organically within residential areas. They toast the tea leaves in an earthen wok and stir the leaves with their bare hands.
The locals chew a little piece of palm sugar before taking a sip of the begug tea ' a way to combine the sugar's sweetness and toasted aroma of the begug tea.
In another chapter, Santhi explains the six types of tea produced from the Camellia sinensis shrub and the best ways to enjoy them. They are black, green, oolong, white, yellow and pu-erh ' dubbed as the wine of the tea family.
She also includes 25 tea recipes in the book based on traditional recipes and her trial-and-error in mixing various herbs and spices planted in her herbal garden, Bumi Herbal Dago, in Bandung, West Java. Shanti nurtures over 400 medicinal herbs in the 4-hectare garden.
Herbal teas offer remedies for various health problems, from fennel seed-based Stomach Shooter Tea to slimming tea made from jati belanda (Guazuma ulmifolia) leaves.
Santhi also shares the recipes of the famous West Sumatra teh talua (egg-yolk tea), and the tisane of Papua's sarang semut (Myrmecodia pendans), an epiphytes plant used as an ants' nest.
'Many people drink sarang semut to reduce diabetes and for its anti-carcinogenic benefits although there is a lack of substantial clinical evidence to support these suggestions,' said Santhi, who obtained her master's degree in Food Science and Technology from Curtin University of Technology in Australia.
Writing Leaf It To Tea has propelled her interest in the tea culture of the palace. 'I want to study further about the customs and culture of tea in the Keraton. I hope that I can also write a book about spices, particularly cloves,' Santhi says.
' Photos courtesy of Santhi Serad and Afterhours Books
