Deep Drink: Notes on Mediating Tea in Public Imagination
Shu-Ling Chen Berggreen

Abstract
Tea has been part of human diet for at least five thousand years. As mass media emerged to become a vital part of human history, they also took part in charting the past and future trajectories of tea production and consumption. A seemingly inconspicuous cup of beverage, tea actually can be a deep drink, i.e. its conceptualization, production and consumption have great social ramifications. This paper emerged from a longitudinal project that explores various aspects of those ramifications. While there are multiple parallel but simultaneously intertwined enquiries within this large project, this article focuses on the meaning of tea in our everyday life and the role media play in this meaning-making process.

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