Tanna

Tanna is a leafy plant native to the underground ice caverns of Valhalla. The planet's native inhabitants use the leaves to brew a tea^[1], which is traditionally served in bowls.^[2]

Commissar Ciaphas Cain, who spent most of his active service career assigned to Valhallan Imperial Guard Regiments, developed a liking for the beverage, describing it as fragrant, and with a "faintly bitter aftertaste" that he enjoyed.^[3]

Valhallan Guard regiments enjoy tanna so much that their Chimera troop transports are traditionally modified to carry a samovar to brew and dispense the beverage, even en route to a battle zone.^[5]

Few non-Valhallans seemed able to tolerate the beverage, as Cain conceded to fellow Commissar Tomas Beije that it was "a bit of an acquired taste."^[4] Inquisitor Amberley Vail, after sampling it for the first and only time in her long association with Cain, euphemistically described its flavour as "distinctive."^[1] Likewise, when Cain described its flavour as "delicate" in his memoirs, Vail sardonically compared the use of the adjective to describing a Baneblade tank as "dainty."^[6]

Trivia

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

• Tanna may be partly based on the Russian drink chifir

See also

• Food and Drink of the Imperium

Sources

• 1: Death or Glory (Novel) - Ciaphas Cain: Defender of the Imperium (Omnibus), Chapter Seven, pg. 84, fn. 3
• 2: For the Emperor (Novel) - Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium (Omnibus), Chapter Two, pg. 54
• 3: Sector 13 (Short Story) - Ciaphas Cain: Defender of the Imperium (Omnibus), pg. 16
• 4: The Traitor's Hand (Novel) - Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium (Omnibus), Chapter Two, pg. 517
• 5: The Last Ditch (Novel), ^[Help]
• 6: The Greater Good (Novel), Chapter Four, pg. 53, fn. 2