Chinese Tea Culture

Writer’s Note:

The history of China is of an ancient civilization. It is also the birthplace of tea and tea culture. Chinese Tea has a history of over 5,000 years, it is believed to have originated from the ShenNong Province. Tea has grown to become a very necessary part of Chinese life and the practice of drinking Chinese tea has been exported far and wide. JIN sat down for a chat with the owner of the HaiYa ShuangQuan Famous teahouse, Mr. Han. I heard that Hayiya ShuangQuan Famous Teahouse was worth a visit and I was pleasantly surprised to find a cozy and ethnic teahouse. It was established on 7th July, 1999 and is which located at Tongqingli, Ancient street. The ancient decoration style of the teahouse was a major attraction for me. There were many fine tea sets placed on the rosewood tables and many famous artists’ calligraphy work hung on the walls. Its hospitable owner Han gave me a detailed introduction of the Chinese tea culture.

Part I The Origin of Chinese Tea

History

Tea originated in China 5000 years ago. As recorded, Shen Lung (Han Dynasty A.D. 206 - 220) experimented with natural herbs from the wild and often used Tea for detoxification. It was mostly used for medicinal purposes until 300 B.C. when it became a common, daily drink.

Cha King (Tea Dictionary)

Lu Yu (Tang Dynasty A.D. 618 - 907) was the leading tea expert in this period and was commissioned by the tea merchants to write this dictionary. Gradually, tea was drunk less for its medicinal effects and more for its taste, prepared in the ways described in the Cha King.

Export to the West

In Han Dynasty (A.D. 206 - 220), tea was exported to Iran, India and Japan and classified as a luxury drink which was served in court and regarded as the height of elegance and refinement. Tea was commonly used for barter during the Ming period (A.D. 1368 - 1644). In the 17th century, Dutch merchants imported it to Holland from where it spread throughout Europe. At first it was only consumed by the upper classes in special tearooms until, gradually, the habit was adopted by all social classes.

Part II Classification of Chinese Tea & Ten Best Chinese Teas

Classification of Chinese Tea:

There are more than 100 types of tea because of differing regional climates, soils and treatment processes of growing plants. They are divided into 6 kinds of Tea:

a. White Tea

10% to 20% fermentation process, white coloured tea leaves but the tea is light yellow in colour when brewed. Examples: White Peony, Shou Mee.

b. Green Tea

No fermentation has taken place, the ferment and enzymes which remain in the tea are destroyed by high temperature steaming before the curing process, and the leaves remain olive green. Examples: Long Jing, Chu Cha.

c. Yellow Tea

Slightly fermented, light yellowish coloured tea leaves; it has the look of green and dark green tea when brewed. Examples: Morgan Hill Tip, Fok Shan Tip.

d. Black Tea

Black tea is much more favored by foreigners. Different from green tea, black tea is fermented. After the fermentation, its color changes from green to black. The most famous black teas in China are "Qi Hong" (originated in Anhui)

e. Oolong tea

Oolong tea, with an excellent combination of the freshness of green tea and the fragrance of black tea, has become very popular with more and more people. It has a good function in helping body building and dieting. Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan are the major producing areas of this kind of tea. Oolong tea grows on cliffs, the hard picking process make it the most precious tea.

f. Brick tea

Brick tea, usually pressed into brick shape, is mainly produced in Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Brick tea is made from black tea or green tea and is pressed into blocks. This kind of tea is popular with minority people in border regions. The most famous one is "Pu'er Tea" made in Yunnan province.

Part III Tea Ceremony

The art of drinking and serving tea plays a major cultural role in China. It inspires poetry and songs. Mutual love of tea cements lifelong friendships. For centuries, the ritual of preparing and serving tea has held a special place in the hearts and minds of Chinese aristocracy, court officials, intellectuals and poets.

To Brew Tea Chinese-style

The teapot is first rinsed with hot water. Using chopsticks or a bamboo tea scoop, fill teapot approximately 1/3 full with tea leaves and then pour boiling water into the pot. Hold the teapot over a large bowl, letting the overflow run into the bowl. Give the tea leaves a rinse by filling the pot half full with hot water, then draining the water out immediately, leaving only the soaked tea leaves. Now fill the pot to the top with more hot water, cover and pour additional water over the teapot resting in the tea bowl. Do not allow bubbles to form in the pot. When mixed with the tea, bubbles form a foam that is not aesthetically pleasing. Be sure to not let the tea steep too long; the first infusion should be steeped for only 30 seconds. In less than a minute, pour the tea into the cups by moving the teapot around in a continual motion over the cups so that they are filled together. Each cup should taste exactly the same.

Ten Famous Chinese Tea

Spring Snail(Produced at Wu County, Jiangsu).

Monkey King(Produced at Taiping County in Anhui)

Iron Goddess (Produced at Anxi County, Fujian. )

Dragon Well(Produced at Longjing village near the West Lake, Hangzhou,Zhejiang.)

Fur Peak(Produced at Mt. Huangshan in Anhui.)

Big Red Rope(Produced at Wuyi Mountain, Fujian. )

Gua Pien Tea(Produced at Liuan County in Henan.)

Silver Needle(Produced at Qingluo Island on Dongting Lake. )

Qi Men Black Tea(Produced at Qimen County in Anhui. )

Fur Tip Tea(Produced at Xinyang, Henan. )

Part IV Tea set variety and how to select Tea set

In the narrow sense, a tea set refers to tea cup, teapot, tea bowl, tea dish, tea plate, etc. China has all kinds of tea sets with beautiful designs. Apart from their functional value, they are also have high art value. Tea sets are divided into several classifications due to different making materials and producing area as follows: China Clay tea set, glass tea set, metal tea set, bamboo tea set, etc.

Clay Tea set is referring to Zisha Pottery tea set made in Yixing. Use Zisha Pottery teapot to brew tea can made tea more fragrant and can keep the color, fragrant and vapor of tea for a long time.

Glass tea set is popular among people for its transparence, luster, and appearance. Use glass teacup or teapot to brew tea, especially some famous tea, the tea soup is very colorful and bright, tea leaf and flower float during the brew process, lamina gradually extend that looks very nice, it is also can say is a dynamic art appreciation.

There are all kinds of tea set, so how to determine a good tea set?

1. Practical value

2. Appreciation value (outlook appearance)

Give an example of teapot: dimension and capacity proportion rightly, lift pot hold easily, no gap around pot lid, water fluency from tea spout, beautiful design, color, sculpt, the pot combine the practical value with art beauty is the best teapot.

Part V How to preserve Tea?

The container which is keeps the tea should be either a tin container, porcelain jar or a coloured bottle . Secondly iron cans, wooden boxes and bamboo boxes should not be used in dry areas such as in the northern part of China. The tea container should be dry, clean and have no smell. Thetea should be placed in a dry and ventilated place. It cannot be exposed to the humidity, high temperatures or in direct sunlight. No strong smelling substances should be placed near it such ascamphor, medicines, perfumes, cigarettes and dirty laundry. Different types of tea must be kept separately.

Part VI Tea & Health & Beauty

Tea & Health

Tea has become one of the most popular drinks around the world. Not only has it special flavor, but it improves one’s health and has nutrition value. Out of the 86 kinds of elements that body needs, 28 of them can be found in tea. So we can say that tea is a supplement for our body. Tea has been said to also improve immunity function, increasing helpful intestinal bacteria, prevent cancer, eliminating bad body odors, detoxify the body, and have a curative effect on many kinds of illnesses.

Tea & Beauty. According to some tea experts:

If your eyes are tired, you can use cotton soak cotton in cold tea water and place it over your eyes to reduce puffiness and ease weariness.

A way to remove the dark circles around the eyes is first saturate two bags of tea into cold water or put in to the refrigerator until cold and then place one bag of tea on each eyelid for 15 minutes.

For too much sun exposure, soak cotton in old tea and place it on sun burnt areas for short time.

To whiten skin——Boil the black tea leaves and two spoon of sugar and add floor to mix then put them on the face. After15 minutes, use a wet towel to clean the face. If done daily, your skin will become whiten in a month.

Drinking tea tips

How much tea should one drink everyday?

For ordinary adult, drink 6-10 grams per day. For those performing heavy labor, they can consume more 20 grams. Pregnant woman and children should drink less tea.

How to arrange the four seasons to drink tea?

Different season drink various tea, generally speaking, Black tea is hot, green tea is cool. Green tea contained more Polyphenols than black tea, it tastes bitter than black tea.

Seasoning drinking tea as follows: drink flower tea in the spring and autumn, gentle and fragrance; green tea in Summer, or add several petals white chrysanthemum, honeysuckle or several drop of lemon or mint juice, which can take the effect of cool and eliminate hot. Drink black tea that can keep body warm.