Camellia Sinensis has been known by Indonesian at 1684 and since then there were many tea plantations in Indonesia, some of them located at Javanese Highlands. There are some Indonesian Culture Tea that you should know.
- Wasgitel
It is one of the terms that are used in Indonesian tea culture that is an abbreviation for wangi, panas, sepet, legi, lan (dan) kentel—that means fragrant, hot, astringent to the taste, legi (first day of the five-day week), and thick. Green tea and jasmine tea are suitable for this culture as they have strong aromas and flavors when served during important meetings or during relax time. Loose tea products from Teh Jawa are the most suitable with this culture because of they produce better fragrance.
- Clay Tea Set
This culture tea is very familiar among Javanese, where they serve tea with rock sugar or usually called ‘Nasgitel’ (panas, legi dan kentel—hot, legi, and thick). Do you know that enjoying tea using clay tea set has its own philosophy? The start of the drinking process tasted bitter, much like the start of bitterness in life’s journey, but as we do not give up and keep working hard, then we can achieve success and the sweetness of life in the end. This culture is quite famous in some areas in Java, such as Cirebon, Tegal, Slawi, Pemalang, and Brebes.
- Combination Tea (Teh Nyampur atau Teh Oplos)
This tea culture from Solo city is one of the most interesting culture as they create tea with combining different types of teas. Jasmine tea will dominate the palate, then as it gets mixed with other variant based from preferences, it will produce one-of-a-kind blend. The purpose of combining some types of tea is to get the right blend based from the flavor, brewed color and thickness of the taste. With various type of tea variants, Teh Jawa could be an alternative option to make Teh Nyampur, using Loose Tea or Traditional Tea.