Chinese Tea Culture |
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Tea drinking customs As a sign of respect: In Chinese society, the younger generation always shows its respect to the older generation by offering a cup of tea. Inviting and paying for their elders to go to For a family gathering: When sons and daughters leave home to work and get married, they may seldom visit their parents. As a result, parents may seldom meet their grandchildren. Going to restaurants and drinking tea, therefore, becomes an important activity for family gatherings. Every Sunday, Chinese restaurants are crowded, especially when people celebrate festivals. This phenomenon reflects Chinese family values. To apologize: In Chinese culture, people make serious apologies to others by pouring tea for them. For example, children serving tea to their parents is a sign of regret and submission. To express thanks to your elders on one's wedding day: In the traditional Chinese marriage
The Categories of Tea Green tea: Green tea (lǜ chá 绿茶) is the variety which keeps the original colour of the tea leaves without fermentation during processing. This category consists mainly of Longjing tea of Zhejiang Province, Maofeng of Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province and Biluochun produced in Jiangsu. Black tea: Black tea, known as "red tea" (hóng chá 红茶) in China, is the category which is fermented before baking; it is a later variety developed on the basis of the green tea. The best brands of black tea are Qihong (qí hóng 祁红) of Anhui (ān huī 安徽), Dianhong (diān hóng 滇红) of Yunnan (yún nán 云南), Suhong (sū hóng 苏红) of Jiangsu (jiāng sū 江苏), Chuanhong (chuān hóng 川红) of Sichuan (sì chuān 四川) and Huhong (hú hóng 湖红) of Hunan (hú nán 湖南). The most famous black tea: Pu'Er Tea
Pu’Er tea derives its name from the market town of Pu-er, where it was originally processed and sold, but it is grown on the Nuoshan Mountains. It is said that the unique taste of Pu’Er Tea was developed because it took weeks to transport the tea leaves by horseback to the town to be processed. During this transportation period the tea leaves would begin to ferment in the humidity and release a strong, fragrant aroma, which people found quite pleasant. A special technique of tea fermenting developed and Pu’er was thus created.
Wulong tea (wū lóng 乌龙茶): This represents a variety half way between the green and the black teas, being made after partial fermentation. It is a specialty from the provinces on China's southeast coast: Fujian (fú jiàn 福建), Guangdong (guǎng dōng 广东) and Taiwan (tái wān 台湾). Compressed tea: This is the kind of tea which is compressed and hardened into a certain shape. It is good for transport and storage and is mainly supplied to the ethnic minorities living in the border areas of the country. As compressed tea is black in colour in its commercial form, so it is also known in China as "black tea". Most of the compressed tea is in the form of bricks; it is, therefore, generally called "brick tea", though it is sometimes also in the form of cakes and bowls. It is mainly produced in Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Scented tea: This kind of tea is made by mixing fragrant flowers in the tea leaves in the course of processing. The flowers commonly used for this purpose are jasmine and magnolia among others. Jasmine tea is a well-known favourite with the northerners of China and with a growing number of foreigners.
China's Tea-Producing Areas The Jiangnan area: It lies south of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze (cháng jiāng 长江) River, and is the most prolific of China's tea-growing areas. Most of its output is the green variety; some black tea is also produced. The Jiangbei area: This refers to a large area north of the same river, where the average temperature is 2-3 Centigrade degrees lower than in the Jiangnan area. Green tea is the principal variety turned out there, but Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, which are also parts of this area. produce compressed tea for supply to the minority areas in the Northwest. The Southwest area: This embraces Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Tibet, producing black, green as well as compressed teas. Pu'er tea of Yunnan Province enjoys a good sale in China and abroad. The Lingnan area: This area , consisting of the southern provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and taiwan, produces Wulong tea, which is renowned both at home and abroad. Top Ten Tea of China
Tea has been one of the daily necessities in China since time immemorial. Countless numbers of people like to have their aftermeal cup of tea. In summer or warm climate, tea seems to dispel the heat and bring on instant cool together with a feeling of relaxation. For this reason, tea-houses abound in towns and market villages in South China and provide elderly retirees with the locales to meet and chat over a cup of tea. Tea is also rich in various vitamins and, for smokers, it helps to discharge nicotine out of the system. After wining, strong tea may prove to be a sobering pick-me-up.
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