Teahouse

Cafe type business serving tea

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A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only serves cream teas. Although the function of a tearoom may vary according to the circumstance or country, teahouses often serve as centers of social interaction, like coffeehouses. Some cultures have a variety of distinct tea centered establishments of different types, depending on the national tea culture. For example, the British or American tearoom serves afternoon tea with a variety of small snacks.

Throughout China and Japan, a teahouse (Chinese: 茶館, or 茶屋, ; Japanese: (茶屋); Standard Nepali: chiya ghar (चिया घर)) is traditionally a place which offers tea to its customers. People gather at teahouses to chat, socialize and enjoy tea, and young people often meet at teahouses for dates. The Guangdong (Cantonese) style teahouse is particularly famous outside of China, especially in Nepal's Himalayas. These teahouses, called (茶樓) serve dim sum (點心), and these small plates of food are enjoyed alongside tea. Before tea was used as a social drink, Buddhist monks drank it to aid their meditation. During the Chinese adaptation of Buddhism between 200 C. E. and 850 C. E., tea was introduced as a medicinal herb. It was then evolved to assist Buddhist monks in their meditation by providing the energy needed to stay awake (likely via the effects of caffeine as a stimulant on the brain). Soon after that, tea was popularized as a commonplace beverage, replacing the previously consumed milk and water based beverages and Chinese teahouses provided a new kind of social life for the Chinese during the 8th 9th centuries C. E.

According to Japanese cultural tradition, a teahouse ordinarily refers to a private structure designed for holding Japanese tea ceremonies. This structure and specifically the room in it where the tea ceremony takes place is called literally "tea room"; 茶室; chashitsu. The architectural space called was created for aesthetic and intellectual fulfillment. During the Edo period, the term "teahouse" came to refer to the place where geisha would entertain their clients or as a place where couples seeking privacy could go. In this case, the establishment was referred to as an , literally meaning "tea house"; however, these establishments only served tea incidentally. Though the usage of the term for teahouses in the modern sense is now considered archaic with modern tearooms known as , serving tea as well as coffee the term is still used in Kyoto to refer to the establishments where geisha perform and entertain clients.

In Central Asia, the term "teahouse" refers to several variations on teahouses found in different countries; these include the in Kazakhstan, in Kyrgyzstan and in Uzbekistan, all of which translate as "a tea room". In Tajikistan, the largest teahouses are the Orient Teahouse, Chinese Teahouse, and Orom Teahouse in the city of Isfara. On the 15th anniversary of the independence of Tajikistan, the people of Isfara presented the Isfara Teahouse to the city of Kulyab for its 2700th anniversary in September 2006. Teahouses are present in other parts of West Asia, notably in Iran and also Turkey. Such teahouses may be referred to, in Persian, as , or in Turkish, çayhane literally, the "house of tea". These teahouses usually serve several beverages in addition to tea. In Arab countries such as Egypt, establishments that serve tea, coffee and herbal teas like hibiscus tea are referred to as or (مقهى) and are more commonly translated into English as "coffeehouse".

In Myanmar, teahouses known as (လက်ဖက်ရည်ဆိုင်), formerly known as (ကာကာဆိုင်), are a staple of urban centers throughout the country. These teahouses, which first emerged during the British colonial era, serve milk tea and a variety of delicacies ranging from native dishes like to Indian fritters (such as and ) or Chinese pastries (such as and ). Tea shops have traditionally served as venues akin to conversational salons.

In Pakistan, the prominent Pak Tea House is an intellectual tea–café located in Lahore known as the hub of Progressive Writers' Movement.

Tea drinking is a pastime closely associated with the English. A female manager of London's Aerated Bread Company is credited with creating the bakery's first public tearoom in 1864, which became a thriving chain. Tea rooms were part of the growing opportunities for women in the Victorian era. In the UK today, a tea room is a small room or restaurant where beverages and light meals are served, often having a sedate or subdued atmosphere. The food served can range from a cream tea (also known as Devonshire tea), i. e., a scone with jam and clotted cream; to an elaborate afternoon tea featuring tea sandwiches and small cakes; to a high tea, a savoury meal. In Scotland, teas are usually served with a variety of scones, pancakes, crumpets, and other cakes. There is a long tradition of tea rooms within London hotels, for example, at Brown's Hotel at 33 Albemarle Street, which has been serving tea in its tea room for over 170 years. In a related usage, a tea room may be a room set aside in a workplace for relaxation and eating during tea breaks. Traditionally this was served by a tea lady, not to be confused with a dinner lady.

Tea rooms are popular in Commonwealth countries, particularly Canada, with its harsh winters when afternoon tea is popular. The menu will generally have similar foods to the UK, but with the addition sometimes of butter tarts or other small desserts like nanaimo bars or pets de sœurs. Tea is commonly consumed in other Commonwealth countries alone or in the British fashion.

In France, a tea room is called Salon de thé, and pastries and cakes are served. It seems that having a separate teahouse was a tradition in many European countries. In the Czech Republic, the tea room culture has been spreading since the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and today, there are nearly 400 tea rooms (čajovny) in the country (more than 50 just in Prague), which is according to some sources Europe's largest concentration of tea rooms per capita. In Kosovo, there are teahouses known as "çajtore".

The popularity of the tea room rose as an alternative to the pub in the UK and US during the temperance movement in the 1830s. The form developed in the late nineteenth century, as Catherine Cranston opened the first of what became a chain of Miss Cranston's Tea Rooms in Glasgow, Scotland, and similar establishments became popular throughout Scotland. In the 1880s, fine hotels in both the United States and England began to offer tea service in tea rooms and tea courts, and by 1910 they had begun to host afternoon tea dances as dance crazes swept both the US and the UK. Tea rooms of all kinds were widespread in Britain by the 1950s. In the following decades, cafés became more fashionable, and tea rooms became less common.

The term "tea shop" may also refer to a retail shop selling dry tea to take home. Dry tea (first, as loose leaves, and then in teabags) used to be sold at grocers' shops, and now mainly at supermarkets. One of the oldest shops that still specialises in selling tea for consumption at home is Twinings, which has been operating from the same premises in central London since it opened in 1706. In South African English, "tearoom" is a synonym for "café" or small local grocer's shop. In the workplace, the term tea room ("break room" in North America) is a room set aside for employees to relax, specifically a work break refreshment. Traditionally, a staff member serving hot drinks and snacks at a factory or office was called a tea lady, although this position is now almost defunct. Tea is a prominent feature of British culture and society. For centuries, Britain has been one of the world's greatest tea consumers, and now consumes an average per capita of 1.9 kg (4.18 lbs) per year.