Scroll Remathen Tea Mastery

The sublime herb known as 'tea' is essential to civilized life in the nation of Remath. Indeed, among the upper eschelons of Remathen society can be found a confederation of intense young men and women who call themselves the Tea Masters. These champions of stimulating beverages gather in fashionable locales to challenge one another with novel recipes.
The following four categories of tea-mixing are acknowledged by the Tea Masters, and each category is judged on its own merit:
* Simple black tea mixed with one or more essences, without milk.
* Sozat tea, mixed with one or more other essence, without milk.
* Simple black tea mixed with one or more essences, with milk.
* Sozat tea, mixed with one or more other essence, with milk.
The strong, spicy flowers of the sozat bush are extremely popular among the Remathen elite, and are regarded as a basis upon which to construct elaborate edifices of aesthetic delight. Roses of all types are the most common additional essence, and the Tea Masters assert that they can distinguish between different species of rose within the sultry beverage. Chamomile, lavender, jasmine, mint, rosemary, sage and pokoi are also used, as well as fruit extracts - lemon, apple, blueberry, blackberry, plum, and apricot. Whether or not to add milk to any given concoction is a subject of serious debate.
The mixing of the tea takes place in a public venue, often watched by envious bystanders. Every step of the process is ritualized, beginning with filling the teapot with pristine water and setting it to boil. Tiny ceramic cups are placed before the Masters, and they sip each new mixture in order of rank. The system of hierarchy within the group is as complex, as ever-shifting as the steam swirling above the teapots.