THE INTERCULTURAL PECULIARITIES OF TEA-DRINING CULTURE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Tea-drinking culture in the Czech Republic is unique in the European context and brings many questions why it is radically different (or non-existent) in other European countries. The authors focused on the research questions (a) what are the reasons for the specific tea-drinking culture in the Czech Republic and (b) what are the reasons for these peculiarities. The tea-drinking culture in the Czech Republic is very unique and there is no research into the roots of these specific phenomena. It is very important to understand them from the sociological and historical point of view since they can explain the reasons and also the consequences. Both qualitative and quantitative research was conducted in the form of questionnaires and interviews with observations, respectively, in the Czech Republic and several other European countries. Drinking tea in the tearooms in the Czech Republic is very specific and it is almost impossible to find a similar phenomenon in other European countries. Strange enough, it mixes the influences from, naturally, China and Japan, classic countries with a long tea culture, with Arabic countries where water pipes are popular, alongside with Indian style of decorations, and sometimes vegan food from India. This intercultural cluster is absolutely unique and the authors claim that not only in the European context but also globally. (C) 2017 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.UK