The results of our Sociology Department Faculty Member Dr. Ahmet TAK‘s research, in which he evaluated the tea culture, which is included in Turkey’s intangible cultural heritage list, in the context of modern Turkish culture, was published in the book titled Turkey’s Culinary Sociology with the title ‘Modern Turkish Culture and Tea’.
TAK’s study focuses on the development of Turkish tea culture over the years, which has been included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List, and its significance for Turkish culture. Addressing the Turkish fascination with tea, TAK highlights that it does not have a long historical background. Despite the widespread consumption of tea in contemporary times, he finds this fact quite intriguing. While acknowledging that some Turkish communities have a longer history of interaction with tea, TAK emphasizes that for the Anatolian population, this phenomenon remains commonplace and doesn’t extend beyond exceptional cases. He notes that it took a considerable amount of time for tea to make its way to Anatolia and Thrace from its origin in China. TAK points out that Turks are among the last nations to have encountered tea, and he mentions that the consumption of tea escalated from being in the third place to the first place among countries in the world only in the 2000s. Regarding the social and cultural functions of tea within Turkish society, TAK portrays tea as a gastronomic revolution with strong social and cultural dimensions that has garnered substantial public support. He emphasizes that tea has significantly influenced both our taste preferences and sociability.