History And Types Of Ancient Chinese Tea

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Video: History And Types Of Ancient Chinese Tea

Video: History And Types Of Ancient Chinese Tea
Video: The history of tea - Shunan Teng 2024, November
History And Types Of Ancient Chinese Tea
History And Types Of Ancient Chinese Tea
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The Chinese people are undoubtedly the ones who understand best the nature of tea. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of tea in Chinese culture. In various places in history, the national drink in China has been defined as the state currency and used as money.

Origin of tea

While references to tea in Chinese literature go back about 5,000 years, the origin and use of tea as a beverage is unclear. Ancient folklore places its creation in 2737 BC, when the camellia blossomed in a glass of boiled drinking water belonging to Emperor Shen Nung.

Initially, tea was valued for its medicinal properties. It has long been known that it helps digestion, which is why many Chinese prefer to consume it after meals. Another interesting side effect for smokers is that tea accelerates the release of nicotine from the body.

History and types of ancient Chinese tea
History and types of ancient Chinese tea

The highly respected poet and former Buddhist priest Lu Yu had strict ideas about the proper procedure for brewing, brewing and serving tea. For example, only water from a slow-moving stream is acceptable as well tea leaves should be placed in a porcelain cup. The perfect environment for consuming the finished product was in a pavilion by the pond, preferably in the company of a desired woman.

In the centuries since the publication of Yu's work, the popularity of tea has spread rapidly throughout China. Drinking tea became a suitable topic for books and poems. The emperors presented gifts in the form of tea to noble guests. While the Chinese have never developed ritual ceremony around drinking tearesembling a Japanese tea ceremony, they have a healthy respect for its role in their daily lives.

Types of tea

History and types of ancient Chinese tea
History and types of ancient Chinese tea

Often tea lovers are surprised that everyone types of tea come from the same source: the Camellia Sinensis shrub. While there are hundreds varieties of Chinese teas, most of them fall into four main categories.

To provide the most health benefits, white tea is made from immature tea leaves that are collected shortly before the buds are fully open.

Green teas are not fermented during processing and thus retain the original color of the tea leaves. The most famous green tea is the expensive Dragon Well tea, grown in the hills of Hangzhou.

Also known as red tea, black teas are made from fermented leaves, which explains their darker color. Popular varieties of black tea include Bo Lei, Cantonese tea and many others.

There is also a fourth category, known as flavored teas, made by mixing different flowers and petals with green teas. The most famous among them is jasmine tea.

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