Feel uplifted and revitalized, when you are in China with Chinese Tea. Tea is the national drink of China. When it comes to drinks, Chinese people are the inventors of tea drinking. Tea in China is like the soul of Chinese beverages. China tea is sufficient to trigger you while you are on tour to China. China tea makes it importance not only as a beverage or the stimulant but it has long been used as herbal medicine.
Tea has been a major part of Chinese culture, having been evidently invented
back in the time of the Yellow Emperor.
In China, when you see someone on the street, before you even say 'hello,'
you say 'have you had tea yet?'"- Hence, we can say that the tea is
deep-rooted in Chinese rich culture and heritage.
It is a major part of daily life, being as basic to drink as water. People
of China are very fond of tea and drinks tea regularly. China enjoys the
status of one of the foremost tea growing regions in the world. Due to its
varied geographic location and climate, different places grow various kinds
of tea.
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Presently in China, the tea family not only consists of traditional tea,
but also tea beverage, tea food, tea medicine and other tea products.
In general, there are 8 classes of Chinese Tea, further classifying into
thousands tea.
1. Green tea
2. Oolong tea
3. Black tea
4. Red tea
5. White tea
6. Yellow tea
7. Flower / Scented tea
8. Compressed tea
Tea
Name
"CHA", "TAY", "TEA
In Chinese dialects, pronunciation of "tea" is divided into two
classes based on phonetic similarity. In mandarin, "tea" is "CHA";
in XiaMenese (FuJian province), "tea" is "TAY".
Chinese Tea - The Origin
Tea is originated in China, it was in the South-West part of China that
Chinese tea was first found.
South Western China lies in the tropical and sub-tropical climate zone and
is throng by primeval forests. The warm and damp, humid climate is the
perfect cradle for tea trees. Huge, 2,700 years old wild tea trees and 800
years old-planted tea trees can still be found these locations.
The tea was first discovered and used as medicine. Then it evolved into a
beverage, and further, in to part of Chinese culture.
Later on the Chinese tea was cooked like soup. Tealeaves were eaten along
with the soup. Tealeaves were even mixed with food. Ancient Chinese books
show that the tea was eaten and used with other spices.
Chinese Tea from Boiling to Brewing
From the Ming Dynasty --1368 - 1644 onward, loose tealeaves were completely
taken over. During 1531 to 1595, the process of making of Chinese tea moved
from boiling to brewing. Tea utensils like ‘YiXing’- Teapots
became very popular from then onwards.
The Chinese Tea Ceremony
The skill of drinking and serving tea is all a part of rich cultural
heritage of China. It inspires poetry and songs. Mutual love of tea holds
the lifelong friendships.
The
Chinese tea ceremony emphasizes the tea, rather than the ceremony.
The participants of Chinese tea ceremony are concerned with --what the tea
tastes like, smells like, and how it is served compared to the previous tea
rounds, or in successive rounds of drinking. The ceremony is performed with
such grace that it doesn’t look like a ceremony, but rather as gentle
hospitality.
Each pot of tea serves three to four rounds and up to five or six,
depending on the tea and the server. The goal is that each round tastes the
same as the first. Creating consistent flavor is where the mastery of the
server is seen.
The 10 Most Famous Chinese Tea
The top ten teas in China are as follows-
- Longjing produced near West Lake, Hangzhou, Zhejiang
- Biluochun from Wu County in Jiangsu
- Huangshan Maofeng from Mt. Huangshan in Anhui
- Junshan Silver Needle from Qingluo Island on Dongting Lake
- Qimen Black Tea from Qimen County in Anhui
- Liuan Guapian from Liuan County in Anhui
Xinyang Maojian from Xinyang in Henan
- Duyun Maojian from Duyun Mountain in Guizhou
- Wuyi Rock Tea from Wuyi Mountain in Fujian
- Tieguanyin from Anxi County in Fujian
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Judgement to a Good Tea
Several characteristics are involved in judging the good tea. All the
leaves within the lot should be similar in shape. The boiling water, when
poured on it, the color of the liquid and fragrance are significant to note.
The leaves should be opened up fully and all sunk to the bottom of the cup,
with none remaining in the dried state floating on top. Of course, the most
important characteristic in judging a good tea still lies in its tastes.
