a light midafternoon meal of tea and sandwiches or cakes
<noun.food> an Englishman would interrupt a war to have his afternoon tea
a tropical evergreen shrub or small tree extensively cultivated in e.g. China and Japan and India; source of tea leaves
<noun.plant> tea has fragrant white flowers
a reception or party at which tea is served
<noun.group> we met at the Dean's tea for newcomers
dried leaves of the tea shrub; used to make tea
<noun.food> the store shelves held many different kinds of tea they threw the tea into Boston harbor
Tea \Tea\ (t[=e]), n. [Chin. tsh[=a], Prov. Chin. te: cf. F. th['e].] 1. The prepared leaves of a shrub, or small tree ({Thea Chinensis} or {Camellia Chinensis}). The shrub is a native of China, but has been introduced to some extent into some other countries.
Note: Teas are classed as green or black, according to their color or appearance, the kinds being distinguished also by various other characteristic differences, as of taste, odor, and the like. The color, flavor, and quality are dependent upon the treatment which the leaves receive after being gathered. The leaves for green tea are heated, or roasted slightly, in shallow pans over a wood fire, almost immediately after being gathered, after which they are rolled with the hands upon a table, to free them from a portion of their moisture, and to twist them, and are then quickly dried. Those intended for black tea are spread out in the air for some time after being gathered, and then tossed about with the hands until they become soft and flaccid, when they are roasted for a few minutes, and rolled, and having then been exposed to the air for a few hours in a soft and moist state, are finally dried slowly over a charcoal fire. The operation of roasting and rolling is sometimes repeated several times, until the leaves have become of the proper color. The principal sorts of green tea are Twankay, the poorest kind; Hyson skin, the refuse of Hyson; Hyson, Imperial, and Gunpowder, fine varieties; and Young Hyson, a choice kind made from young leaves gathered early in the spring. Those of black tea are Bohea, the poorest kind; Congou; Oolong; Souchong, one of the finest varieties; and Pekoe, a fine-flavored kind, made chiefly from young spring buds. See {Bohea}, {Congou}, {Gunpowder tea}, under {Gunpowder}, {Hyson}, {Oolong}, and {Souchong}. --K. Johnson. --Tomlinson.
Note: ``No knowledge of . . . [tea] appears to have reached Europe till after the establishment of intercourse between Portugal and China in 1517. The Portuguese, however, did little towards the introduction of the herb into Europe, and it was not till the Dutch established themselves at Bantam early in 17th century, that these adventurers learned from the Chinese the habit of tea drinking, and brought it to Europe.'' --Encyc. Brit.
2. A decoction or infusion of tea leaves in boiling water; as, tea is a common beverage.
3. Any infusion or decoction, especially when made of the dried leaves of plants; as, sage tea; chamomile tea; catnip tea.
4. The evening meal, at which tea is usually served; supper.
{Arabian tea}, the leaves of {Catha edulis}; also (Bot.), the plant itself. See {Kat}.
{Assam tea}, tea grown in Assam, in India, originally brought there from China about the year 1850.
{Australian tea}, or {Botany Bay tea} (Bot.), a woody climbing plant ({Smilax glycyphylla}).
{Brazilian tea}. (a) The dried leaves of {Lantana pseodothea}, used in Brazil as a substitute for tea. (b) The dried leaves of {Stachytarpheta mutabilis}, used for adulterating tea, and also, in Austria, for preparing a beverage.
{Labrador tea}. (Bot.) See under {Labrador}.
{New Jersey tea} (Bot.), an American shrub, the leaves of which were formerly used as a substitute for tea; redroot. See {Redroot}.
{New Zealand tea}. (Bot.) See under {New Zealand}.
{Oswego tea}. (Bot.) See {Oswego tea}.
{Paraguay tea}, mate. See 1st {Mate}.
{Tea board}, a board or tray for holding a tea set.
{Tea bug} (Zo["o]l.), an hemipterous insect which injures the tea plant by sucking the juice of the tender leaves.
{Tea caddy}, a small box for holding tea.
{Tea chest}, a small, square wooden case, usually lined with sheet lead or tin, in which tea is imported from China.
{Tea clam} (Zo["o]l.), a small quahaug. [Local, U. S.]
{Tea garden}, a public garden where tea and other refreshments are served.
{Tea plant} (Bot.), any plant, the leaves of which are used in making a beverage by infusion; specifically, {Thea Chinensis}, from which the tea of commerce is obtained.
{Tea rose} (Bot.), a delicate and graceful variety of the rose ({Rosa Indica}, var. {odorata}), introduced from China, and so named from its scent. Many varieties are now cultivated.
{Tea service}, the appurtenances or utensils required for a tea table, -- when of silver, usually comprising only the teapot, milk pitcher, and sugar dish.
{Tea set}, a tea service.
{Tea table}, a table on which tea furniture is set, or at which tea is drunk.
{Tea taster}, one who tests or ascertains the quality of tea by tasting.
{Tea tree} (Bot.), the tea plant of China. See {Tea plant}, above.
{Tea urn}, a vessel generally in the form of an urn or vase, for supplying hot water for steeping, or infusing, tea.
Tea \Tea\, v. i. To take or drink tea. [Colloq.]
The prince's backstage work included making tea for co-workers.
'They even offered us scones and cream tea.
Dice the butter, put it into a small saucepan with half the tea and heat gently until the butter is melted.
Anyway, I ended up at the Yama restaurant and ate shredded pork for $14.52, fried rice for $6.53 and iced tea for $2.54.
Many assume - quite wrongly as it turns out - that the taste must be caused by the same water that was having so much effect on my tea.
London is where George III operated and, if you believe what they told you in the sixth grade, gave the orders oppressing the American colonists until they threw him overboard along with the tea and formed these United States.
Annual growth in the $400 million readyto-drink tea market is running at 15% to 20%, said Michael Bellas, president of Beverage Marketing Corp.
"They are rich and evocative but not in cakes and tea," Ms. Youngman said.
Everyone else had Cokes and iced tea," Young said recently. "Drinking is thoroughly frowned upon." The Navy now realizes that alcohol can cause work, family and health problems, he said.
"I figured mother and Garbo at the moment were having tea, and mother said, `Make sure she gets it,"' Ford said of her late mother.
Sinhalese extremists killed two candidates for the the district council election scheduled for next Thursdy in the southern region of this tea and spice island off the tip of India.
A tea company, Unilever is also experimenting with chicory-flavored instant coffee in India.
"I never gave blood before, but I'm here because of the crisis in the Gulf," says the telephone-company office manager as he and a throng of donors, of all ages, recover from their bloodletting with English tea and biscuits.
Several villagers welcome three visitors to Tiouilit, and over endless glasses of sweet tea they gab till long after midnight before allowing their guests to sleep on the straw-matted floor.
Its Asian-inspired Kenmei Rice Bran has a takeyour-choice "Treasures of the Orient" premium ranging from handpainted silk note cards to tins of tea.
I wore thermal underwear and layers of clothing, and brought a thermos full of hot tea.
He said the tea and debris from the boxes would be removed from the already polluted harbor by a Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum employee in a canoe.
The Almeida Theatre has chosen to revive it now, probably rashly. At the start of The Bed before Yesterday widow Alma Millett - almost upper-middle, well-to-do, inexplicably lonely for a male companion - has Victor Keene to tea.
Mate de coca, however, is a harmless and widely drunk herbal tea in the Andean countries. Indeed the Bolivian government believes that exports of coca tea-bags, would bring in substantial export revenues.
It surely arouses a suspicion, at least, of substitute sexual passion. The movie stutters around this question as it does around the dainty, ever-flowing tea table in Hurt's low-ceilinged home.
Many Soviets add large amounts of sugar to their coffee or tea, and serve it with cake or candy.
Awakening leisurely in his Tokyo hotel on the first morning, he ordered a glass of tomato juice, four tea bags and a pot of hot water, then got on the phone to set up some appointments.
"Did you think this was a tea party going on over there in the White House Situation Room?"
The judge's 1987 order made him the focus of local protests called "tea parties," which complained of "taxation without representation."
The dried leaves and flowers were once used to make a tea, thought to prevent or cure all sorts of female complaints.
"Litigation is very adversarial and aggressive," says Pollak, who comes home exhausted from his 60-hour work weeks. "Teaching people how to prepare a gourmet meal or an afternoon tea gives me pleasure.
His wife even plans a tea for Mrs. Bush.
Many also wore yellow hardhats as they sipped tea and smoked in the balmy sunshine.
A town north of Rangoon was under curfew today after mobs destroyed Moslem-owned tea shops and attacked police with stones and catapults, leaving one person dead and five wounded, sources said.
For women inside Japan's corporate world, business entertainment often means pouring tea during the day and whiskey after hours.