Lake Kettle Tea Farming
Giant rows of towering tea bushes float atop the rippling waters of Lake Kettle. These are the largest aquatic tea farms on Cilvarth, spanning hundreds of square kilometres and forming immovable walls. Cerulean tea farmers have a problematic history, infamous for several years of worker strikes.
Cerulean Tea
Camellia
Camellia is a large genus of tea plants native to a large number of planets. They are incredibly abundant on Cilvarth, one of the most widespread and dominant plants.Cerulean tea, or Camellia ceruleanis, is a flowering shrub found native to Lake Kettle, in the Silver Desert. These semi-aquatic evergreen plants stand several metres above the water, roots flowing freely below. Each plant is tethered to the ground in strings of farms to prevent them from floating away.
Almost the entire plant is used to brew cerulean tea. The leaves, shoots, and stems are all harvested, left to dry in the baking sun for a single day cycle.
The tea plant is named after the beverage's light blue colour when a cerulean tea flower is dropped into the drink. The soothing nectar released from the flower gives it a sweet smell and a very smooth taste and texture.
Tools & Equipment
Waterwheel Canoes
Each farmer travels along the strips of tea bushes in a personalised boat, powered with a small waterwheel. Using small pedals this waterwheel turns, slowly propelling it forward. A long bamboo stick is often kept on hand to gently bring the boat closer to the bushes.
Since cerulean tea farmers are independent workers, they must source the boat on their own. A small boat is fairly inexpensive around Lake Kettle, customisation readily available at any artisan's establishment.
Clothing
Upturned flower caps are the choice of headwear for cerulean tea farmers. Giant petals provide protection from harsh desert sunlight, and cerulean nectar is a delicious snack to suckle on throughout the day. The flower of choice is the sunlight champagne, a plant that produces a powerful but attractive aroma.
Farmers wear baggy clothing to conceal as much fur and skin as possible. While insect bites are rare considering few can fight through a cilvarthian's fur, they can cause irritation.
History
Y'know, you kids have it easy these days. We had it tough. There were days when we couldn't have a swig of tea. Can you imagine that?
The discovery of tea coincides with the discovery of the Silver Desert and Lake Kettle. Fifteen thousand years ago, as cilvarthians migrated to the south of Aurea, they approached the Silver Desert.
Lake Kettle became a hub for civilisations as colonies formed across the entire region. Carrying around a bag of cerulean tea leaves meant you were "of the world", and it was seen as a sign of luxury since for a long time, this species was not agriculturally cultivated. It was only until three thousand years ago when people began to plant sprouts in bamboo stalks along the lake's edge, forming the first cerulean tea farms.
I was a farmer during those times... it was rough. You'd have people walking past the lake just glaring at you, occasionally getting some old lady hobbling over by the water to scream profanities at me with a megaphone. Where she got a megaphone I don't even know. And this would happen daily. Eventually I said nah, I can't do this anymore. So me and my mates just sat in our boats all day, docked up, and watched the birds fly about while people screamed at us. I had some pepper spray at the ready, we were good.
As these farms expanded both in popularity and size, they spread farther out into the open lake. Workers now required small boats to harvest the outermost bushes, filling the boat to the brim before they returned back to shore.
Availability of cerulean tea naturally increased, reducing prices but still increasing demand. This tea becoming more readily available made people crave it more and more, to the point where workers were harassed when they hadn't harvested enough tea.
This led to the first cerulean worker strikes, where tea farmers refused to go out into the lake and harvest leaves.
The first strike occurred in 2104, lasting just three days before local city governments stepped in to dissolve tension. Fifteen more strikes occurred over the following two years, resulting in severe inflation. Six municipal governments of towns and cities surrounding Lake Kettle collectively enforced laws that protected cerulean tea farmers, forcing the public to restrain from violence and harassment.
Things began to ease in 2108, as the last strike had disbanded, and farmers were back on the lake. The tea bounced back in the market, prices dropping while customer satisfaction skyrocketed. Cerulean tea became the regional tea of the Silver Desert, and is easily the most consumed tea in the area.
I love tea, and blue tea sounds absolutely magical, but the *audacity* of these people to harass those harvesting the tea leaves for not doing it fast enough! Very true to real life that the general public often doesn't realize they're part of the problem...
Speculative-Fiction Writing
hehe, I was somewhat inspired by consumer culture and the constant demand for "things" :D