عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

People Flock to Saudi Arabia's First Int'l Tea Exhibition

People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

People Flock to Saudi Arabia's First Int'l Tea Exhibition

People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Tea is one of the most consumed drinks globally after water, and it is one of the essential traditional drinks in many countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Saudis consider tea a part of their long-standing heritage after it was introduced into the Kingdom nearly a hundred years ago.

Alongside Saudi coffee, tea is a staple at all social occasions.

Saudis’ love for tea was reflected in the tremendous public turnout at the International Tea Colors, which coincides with International Tea Day.

The event was the first hosted by Saudi Arabia that celebrated tea and its baked goods.

The organizers were keen to ensure there were adequate spaces within the halls of the Riyadh International Fair to display the brands and tea products to the public.

Several events will be held on the sidelines of the exhibition, including a tasting and evaluation platform competing for the best dish of sweet and savory snacks accompanying tea.

Shivanka, a Sri Lankan who is an avid tea drinker, specializes in experimenting with tea crops of all kinds and determining their quality.

He said he has been working in this profession for nearly 20 years.

He drinks about 800 cups of tea a day to get used to its taste and distinguish between the different types to determine the best quality.

Shivanka has been working in Saudi Arabia with a company specializing in tea for nearly 15 years. He indicated that Saudis have a distinct palate in tea, so he works hard to ensure that his evaluation is accurate to provide the best possible quality.

Hamad al-Enzi stated that he has enjoyed drinking tea daily for nearly 30 years.

Enzi, touring the exhibition, said that he drinks tea daily and wanted to attend the show and learn more about tea and its types and production details.

He also wanted to learn about the different companies in Saudi Arabia that produce tea.

According to World Bank, Saudis consume eight billion cups of tea annually, and the per capita consumption of tea in the Kingdom in 2020 ranked first in the Arab world with 1.2 kilograms, exceeding consumption per capita globally by 0.2 kilograms.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Forecasts Warn of Possible Winter Storms across US during Thanksgiving Week

A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Forecasts Warn of Possible Winter Storms across US during Thanksgiving Week

A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 29, 2024. (Reuters)

Forecasters through the US issued warnings that another round of winter weather could complicate travel leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, while California and Washington state continue to recover from storm damage and power outages.
In California, where a person was found dead in a vehicle submerged in floodwaters on Saturday, authorities braced for more precipitation while grappling with flooding and small landslides from a previous storm. Thousands in the Pacific Northwest remained without power after multiple days in the dark.
The National Weather Service office in Sacramento, California, issued a winter storm warning for the state's Sierra Nevada for Saturday through Tuesday, with heavy snow expected at higher elevations and wind gusts potentially reaching 55 mph (88 kph). Total snowfall of roughly 4 feet (1.2 meters) was forecast, with the heaviest accumulations expected Monday and Tuesday.
The Midwest and Great Lakes regions will see rain and snow Monday and the East Coast will be the most impacted on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, forecasters said.
A low pressure system is forecast to bring rain to the Southeast early Thursday before heading to the Northeast. Areas from Boston to New York could see rain and strong winds, with snowfall possible in parts of northern New Hampshire, northern Maine and the Adirondacks. If the system tracks further inland, there could be less snow and more rain in the mountains, forecasters said.
Deadly 'bomb cyclone’ on West Coast Earlier this week, two people died when the storm arrived in the Pacific Northwest. Hundreds of thousands lost power, mostly in the Seattle area, before strong winds moved through Northern California. A rapidly intensifying “ bomb cyclone ” that hit the West Coast on Tuesday brought fierce winds that resulted in home and vehicle damage.
Rescue crews in Guerneville, California, recovered a body inside a vehicle bobbing in floodwaters around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Rob Dillion said, noting the deceased was presumed to be a victim of the storm but an autopsy had not yet been conducted.
Santa Rosa, California, saw its wettest three-day period on record with about 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) of rain by Friday evening, the National Weather Service in the Bay Area reported. Vineyards in nearby Windsor, California, were flooded on Saturday.
Tens of thousands without power in Seattle area Some 80,000 people in the Seattle area were still without electricity after this season’s strongest atmospheric river, a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows over land.
The power came back in the afternoon at Katie Skipper’s home in North Bend, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Seattle, after being out since Tuesday. She was tired from taking cold showers, warming herself with a wood stove and using a generator to run the refrigerator, but Skipper said those inconveniences paled in comparison to the damage other people suffered, such as from fallen trees.
“That’s really sad and scary,” she said.
Northeast gets needed precipitation Another storm brought rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. The precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions after an exceptionally dry fall.
“It’s not going to be a drought buster, but it’s definitely going to help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.
Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lesser accumulations in valley cities including Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Less than 80,000 customers in 10 counties lost power.
Precipitation in West Virginia helped put a dent in the state’s worst drought in at least two decades and boosted ski resorts preparing to open their slopes in the weeks ahead.