This article mainly introduces Chinese tea culture, the origin of tea culture, the meaning of tea culture, main tea varieties and various tea effects.
The Chinese tea culture
Tea culture means the cultural characteristics formed in the course of tea drinking activities, including tea ceremony, tea morals, tea spirit, tea associations, tea books, tea sets, tea paintings, tea studies, tea stories, tea art and so on. The origin of tea culture is China. China is the hometown of tea. It is said that the Chinese people started drinking tea in the Shennong era, which is less than 4700 years old. Until now, Chinese compatriots still have the custom of giving tea as a substitute for rituals. There are various tea preparations in various parts of China: smoked bean tea from Taihu Lake, scented tea from Suzhou, ginger salt tea from Hunan, Xiajun tea from Shushan, Dongding tea from Taiwan, Longjing tea from Hangzhou and Oolong tea from Fujian.
China is an ancient civilization and a country of etiquette. When guests come, the etiquette of making tea and offering tea is indispensable. When a visitor comes, you can ask for opinions and choose the best tea set that suits the visitor's taste. When serving customers with tea, it is also necessary to mix tea properly. When the host accompanies the guests to drink tea, they should pay attention to the residual amount of tea in the cups and pots of the guests. Generally, the tea cup is used to make tea. If half cup of the tea has been drunk, boiling water should be added. The water temperature is suitable. When drinking tea, it can also be appropriately accompanied by tea, candies, dishes and etc to achieve the effect of adjusting taste and snacks.
People in more than one hundred countries and regions all over the world love to taste tea. The tea culture of each country is different and each has its own merits; Chinese tea culture reflects the long-standing civilization and etiquette of the Chinese nation.
Origin of Chinese Tea Culture
Chinese people pay attention to the word "taste" when drinking tea. When guests come, the etiquette of making tea and offering tea is indispensable. When a visitor comes, you can ask for opinions and choose the best tea set that suits the visitor's taste. When serving customers with tea, it is also necessary to mix tea properly. When the host accompanies the guests to drink tea, they should pay attention to the residual amount of tea in the guest’cup or pot. Generally, the tea cup is used to make tea. If half of the tea has been drunk, boiling water should be added. The water temperature is suitable. When drinking tea, it can also be appropriately accompanied by tea, candies, dishes and etc to achieve the effect of adjusting taste and snacks.
Tea culture is very important in the daily life of Chinese people. At that time of the king Wu sent armed forces to suppress King zhou, tea had been used as a tribute. In the later period of the primitive commune, tea became an item of goods for exchange. During the Warring States period, tea had a certain scale. There is a record of tea in the pre-Qin "Book of Songs". Another example is that in the Han Dynasty, tea has become a special tonic for Buddhist "meditation". In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was a trend of tea drinking. In the Sui Dynasty, nearly all people generally drank tea. In the Tang Dynasty, the tea industry was prosperous, and tea became "people can't live without a day." Tea houses, tea banquets, and tea parties appeared, and guests were encouraged to come and worship tea. In the Song Dynasty, it is popular of fighting, offering and bestowing tea.
The content of Chinese tea culture is mainly the embodiment of Chinese spiritual culture, which is much deeper and broader than the categories of "tea customs" and "tea ceremony". It is also the reason why Chinese tea culture is very different from European, American or Japanese tea culture.
The habit of drinking tea worldwide is passed down from China. Therefore, many people believe that tea drinking is the first start from China, for the tea drinking habits and tea planting habits in other parts of the world have been passed directly or indirectly from China.
The meaning of Chinese tea culture
Tea culture uses tea as a medium and spreads various arts through this medium. Tea culture is an integral part of Chinese traditional excellent culture.
Tea culture is an organic integration of tea and culture, which contains and embodies civilization and spiritual civilization of a certain period.
Tea culture is a combination of tea art and spirit, and the spirit is expressed through tea art. It flourished in China's Tang, Song and Ming Dynasty, but declined in Qing Dynasty.
Tea art: It is the appreciation of artistic manipulation methods and the beautiful environment of tea tasting; It is a cultural phenomenon formed in the process of tea drinking activities. Tea art includes a series of contents such as tea selection, water selection, tea cooking technology, tea set art, and environmental selection and creation. The requirement of tea art is to master certain knowledge of tea, be able to make various teas proficiently, and have the ability to arrange tea feasts and carry out various tea parties. In summary, tea art is the art of making tea and drinking tea; More emphasis is placed on the tangible part, which is the external expression of tea making actions, tea utensils, etiquette or tea knowledge.
Tea Ceremony:
It is a lifestyle of self-cultivation with tea as the medium. We use tea to making tea, learn rituals, and appreciate traditional virtues so as to form our own personal perceptions. Drinking tea can calm your mind and soothe your nerves, help cultivate your sentiment and get rid of distracting thoughts; Experience the true meaning and the beauty of life with one drink. In summary, the tea ceremony emphasizes the intangible parts, such as thought, aesthetics, artistic conception and etc. Everyone's life situation is different, and the tea ceremony they perceive is also different.
Tea culture: Refer to the cultural characteristics formed in the process of tea activities, including tea ceremony, tea books, tea stories, tea art and etc. China is the hometown of tea and the birthplace of tea culture. Our country has a vast territory and many varieties of tea. The tea-drinking customs, production techniques, stories and legends, unique varieties and so on based on tea in various regions can all be classified as tea culture.
Tea varieties
The main tea varieties: green tea, black tea, Oolong tea, white tea, dark tea and yellow tea.
Green tea includes Anji white tea, Huangshan Maofeng, West Lake Longjing, Xinyang Maojian and etc.; Black tea includes Dianhong, Zhengshan souchong, Keemum and etc.; Oolong tea includes Tieguanyin, Dahongpao and etc.; White tea includes white peony, Baihao Yinzhen and etc.; Black tea includes Anhua dark tea, Guangxi Liubao tea and etc. Yellow tea includes Mengding Huangya, Junshan Yinzhen and etc.
Characteristics of various teas:
1.Green tea
Green tea with a normal taste should have a slightly bitter taste in the mouth, and it will quickly turn into a refreshing taste. After the astringency and irritation passes, there will be sweetness. The so-called sweetness is the sweetness and refreshment of the throat.
If green tea tastes bitter, it is either that the tea leaves are too old or you put too many tea leaves. Tea is suitable for brewing and drinking. If the temperature is too high or the steeping time is too long, the nutrients such as tea polyphenols will be destroyed and the aroma will disappear.
Generally speaking, the essence of green tea is in the second and third bubbles, and after four or five infusions, the taste is a bit weak.
Recommendations: Biluochun, Anji White Tea, Xinyang Maojian, Huangshan Maofeng, West Lake Longjing.
2.Black tea
The taste of black tea is mainly fragrant, sweet and mellow. Generally, the bitter and astringent taste is much lighter than that of green tea. Because the bitterness and astringency of tea leaves are largely derived from polyphenols, most of the polyphenols of black tea form new substances such as theaflavins and thearubigens through enzymatic reactions.
So the taste of black tea should be sweet and smooth. If you buy black tea that is bitter, sour and astringent, you are basically cheated.
Moreover, the taste of black tea is relatively deep, and it is not easy to remove the tea taste with milk and sugar, so it is suitable for making tea.
Recommendations: Lapsang Souchong, Qimen Black Tea, Yingde Black Tea, Dianhong, Chuanhong, Ninghong.
3.White tea
The taste of new white tea is quite different from that of old white tea. The new tea is light and sweet, with some green grass scent, and some light floral scent. It feels very refreshing. Relatively speaking, the tea taste is relatively light, so don’t disturb the extreme taste.
After several years of storage, the taste of white tea will change, and the tea taste will become mellow, sweet and slightly deep fragrant.
Recommended: Baihao Silver Needle, White Peony, Shoumei, Moonlight White.
4. Oolong tea
Oolong tea is a semi-fermented tea, which can be said to be the most abundant one among the six major teas. There are great differences between different varieties, such as rock tea, Tieguanyin, and Phoenix Dancong.
Oolong tea is characterized by a strong aroma, which is very fragrant. The fragrance of oolong tea is a high and elegant fragrance. This taste is not available in other teas and is also the most typical feature of oolong tea.
Recommendations: Rock tea, Tieguanyin, Phoenix Dancong.
5. Pu'er tea
Pu'er tea is divided into raw tea and cooked tea.
Raw tea is essentially a kind of green tea. It is a gospel for extreme taste tea consumers. It is bitter and astringent. The tea is strong and irritating. However, after a long period of storage, especially the tea that is more than ten years old, the taste will become more and more deep. The mellow, bitter and astringent taste will gradually fade. I like to drink it, but it's a bit expensive, so I can only drink other people's tea.
Ripe tea is fermented to make the tea more mild. Ripe pu’er has mild tea properties. The tea is silky and smooth, and has a full-bodied aroma. It is more suitable for daily drinking. The high quality ripe pu’er is also worthy of collection. The same ripe pu’er has the same fragrance.
The effects of different tea varieties
Efficacy and effects of green tea: anti-aging, lowering blood fat, preventing arteriosclerosis and reducing cardiovascular disease (green tea itself contains tea ganning, which improves blood vessel toughness and prevents blood vessels from rupturing); Slimming, reducing fat, preventing dental caries, clearing bad breath, anti-cancer, whitening and anti-ultraviolet rays; Anti-bacterial, has the function of intestinal regulation; Improve indigestion, such as acute diarrhea caused by bacteria, you can drink a little green tea to alleviate the condition.
Efficacy and function of oolong tea: Skin beautification and anti-aging: Drinking oolong tea can maintain a higher level of vitamin C in the blood and reduce the excretion of vitamin C in the urine. Slimming: a rare weight loss product. Prevent tooth decay: A cup of oolong after a meal, the polyphenols contained in the tea have the effect of inhibiting the production of tartar enzymes. Improve skin allergies.
Efficacy and function of black tea: Black tea has a mild taste and mellow fragrance, which can help gastrointestinal digestion, remove greasiness, appetite, promote health, enhance appetite, diuresis and eliminate edema. Have strong myocardial function. With strong antibacterial power, gargle with black tea can prevent cold caused by filtering viruses, prevent tooth decay and food poisoning, reduce blood sugar levels and high blood pressure. Black tea is not inferior to green tea and is more beneficial to the heart. For people with weak spleen and stomach, adding some milk when drinking black tea can warm the stomach.
Efficacy and function of black tea: Supplement dietary nutrition, aid digestion, relieve greasy, smooth intestines and stomach; Reduce fat, lose weight, soften human blood vessels and prevent cardiovascular disease; Anti-oxidation, delay aging and prolong life; Anti-cancer, anti-mutation and lower blood pressure; Lowering blood sugar, sterilizing, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and detoxifying, reducing the toxicity of tobacco and alcohol.
Efficacy and function of white tea: White tea has three most important functions (anti-radiation, anti-oxidation, anti-tumor) and three lowering (lowering blood pressure, lowering blood lipids, and lowering blood sugar), as well as nourishing the heart, liver, eyes and mind. It can cure diabetes, prevent cerebrovascular disease, lower blood pressure, anti-virus and improve immunity.
Efficacy and function of yellow tea: Yellow tea can protect the spleen and stomach, increase appetite and help digestion. Digestive enzymes can restore the metabolic function of fat cells and remove fat. The tea polyphenols, amino acids, soluble sugars, vitamins and other nutrients in yellow tea can prevent and treat esophageal cancer. More than 85% of the natural substances in the fresh yellow tea leaves are retained. These substances can sterilize and reduce inflammation.
