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Chinese Tea
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In China, tea output for 2004 approached the 800 000 tons ---surpassed only by India. Because of the incredible amount of tea that China can produce, China’s tea equates to a huge fortune. Thus the phrase: “I wouldn’t do that for all the tea in China”. 75% of the tea exported from China in 2004 was Green Tea. Growing conditions are perfect in so many parts of China due to the climate and soil that is mineral enriched by the mountainous terrain. Yunnan is considered the birth place of tea and is subtropical and protected from pollution by the incredible mountains there. Crops are fed by rain that is constantly falling down to the rivers there and rising back up. Tea drinking was popular in ancient China as tea was regarded as one of the seven daily necessities, the others being firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar （柴,米,油,鹽,醬,醋,茶） .Etymology For contemporary Chinese, the word "茶" (pinyin: chá) has come to commonly denote the drink that is derived from Camellia sinensis , the tea plant (茶樹/茶树, pinyin: cháshù). However prior to the 8th century BC, the tea was known collectively under the term "荼" (pinyin: tú) along with a great number of other bitter plants. "Its character: may come from herb/grass (茶 chá from 文字音義 Wénzì yīnyì in 736 AD), or from tree/wood (梌 tú from 本草經 Běncǎojīng, an ancient medical text), or the combination of the two (荼 tú from the 爾雅 Ěryǎ, atreatise on lexicography from the Han dynasty)" What Taking Tea Can Symbolize in China There are several special circumstances in which tea is prepared and consumed. • 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 restaurants for tea is a traditional activity on holidays. • For a family gathering: When sons and daughters leave home to work and get married, they may seldom visit their parents. 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 them tea. That is a sign of regret and submission. • To express thanks to your elders on one's wedding day: In the traditional Chinese marriage ceremony, both the bride and groom kneel in front of their parents and serve them tea. That is a way to express their gratitude. In front of their parents, it is a practice for the married couple to say, "Thanks for bringing us up. Now we are getting married. We owe it all to you." After a person's cup is filled, that person may knock their bent index and middle fingers (or some similar variety of finger tapping) on the table to express gratitude to the person who served the tea. Although this custom is common in southern Chinese culture such as the Cantonese, it is generally not recognised nor practiced in other parts of China Brewing Tea for Tea Ceremony The following steps are one popular way to brew tea in a form considered to be a kind of art. This process is more formal than, say, the more casual way tea is brewed for Dim sum in Chinese restaurants. This procedure is mostly applicable to pu-erh teas, black teas, or oolong teas. 1. Boil water. 2. Rinse the teapot with hot water. 3. Fill the teapot with tea leaves up to one third of the height of the pot. 4. Rinse the tea leaves by filling the pot with hot water up to half full and draining the water immediately leaving only tea leaves behind. (This step, and all subsequent steps involving pouring water, should be performed in a large bowl to catch any overflow.) 5. Pour more hot water into the teapot and pour water over the teapot in the large bowl. Bubbles should not be permitted to be formed in the teapot. The infusion should not be steeped for too long: 30 seconds is an appropriate maximum. 6. Pour the first infusion into small serving cups within a minute by continuously moving the teapot around over the cups. Each cup of tea is expected to have the same flavour, aroma and colour. The nature of this procedure almost mandates the use of some form of drip tray to catch further spillage. 7. Pour excess tea from the first infusion, and all tea from further infusions, into a second teapot after steeping. It is possible to draw five or six good infusions from a single pot of tea, but subsequent infusions must be extended somewhat in duration to extract maximum flavour: the second infusion extended by approximately ten seconds to 40 seconds, the third extended to 45, etc. This form of the art of brewing and drinking tea is appreciated by many people, including non-Chinese. Many people are enthusiastic about the art of tea; they enjoy not only the taste of Chinese tea, but also the process of brewing it. The tea culture involved is attractive besides for the relaxation it generates, allowing them to purportedly forget all the trouble in their life during the process of brewing, serving and drinking tea. Some people enjoy serving others with a cup of tea not just because they want to share their excellent tea but also their peace of mind with others.
For more info see: http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001915chinese_tea_ceremony.php
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