Brief Introduction

Chinese tea is a beverage made from the dried tea leaves and boiled water. As one of the three major beverages in the world, Chinese tea is becoming the most popular, and most wholesome beverage. People drink it daily for salubrity and taste cultivation. With a history of 3000 years, Chinese tea is not just a beverage anymore, but a cultural symbol of China.

History of Chinese Tea

The development of Chinese tea can be roughly divided into eight stages: Origin in Primitive Period, Utilization in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Initiation of Chinese Tea Culture from Spring and Autumn and Warring Periods to Han Dynasty, Beginning of Chinese Tea Culture from Han Dynasty to Sui Dynasty, Formation of Chinese Tea Culture in Sui and Tang Dynasties, Development Summit of Chinese Tea Drinking Culture in Song Dynasty, and Diversification of Tea Drinking Art in Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Origin of Chinese Tea

Entering the Neolithic Age, humans not only learned how to make and use production tools; they also developed cropping and aquaculture, significantly improving the dietary structure. According to The Holy Husbandman's Classic on Roots and Herbs, Shennong (3245 B.C - 3080 B.C) had tasted hundreds of kinds of herbs and roots and discovered the medicinal value of the tea leaves.

Utilization of Chinese Tea

In Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties, Chinese people began to utilize the tea leaves. Along with the diversification of grains, vegetables, and fruits, ancient Chinese people also learned to use and produce seasonings, making food more tasty and nutritious. People in these eras continued to explore the medicinal functions. of tea leaves

Prior to the Shang Dynasty, tea was regarded as a treasure and mostly offered as a sacrifice. While after the Shang Dynasty, people began to plant tea trees and use tea leaves as a tribute. According to the "Huayang Guozhi," the ancient Sichuan people used to offer tea leaves as a tribute to Wu King of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Meanwhile, the Book of Songs (folk book) also depicted a lot about the tea leaves. The earliest tea making was quite simple until, in the late Zhou Dynasty, people began to stress the taste and cooking of the tea leaves, laying the foundation for Chinese tea culture.

Initiation of Chinese Tea Culture

The Chinese Tea Culture is initiated between the Spring and Autumn and Warring Periods and Han Dynasty. In the Spring and Autumn and Warring Periods, tea leaves were incorporated into daily meals. As the tea leaves taste bitter, people referred to them as the bitter tea. This is also the beginning of tea eating and also the initiation of the tea culture. Meanwhile, with the introduction of Buddhism, vegetarian food prevailed. People furthered explored the use of tea leaves. To better save tea leaves, people in this time began to collect the fresh tea leaves and dry them.

Beginning of Chinese Tea Culture

From Western Han to the Sui Dynasty, the tea culture began. With the development of tea leaves production, the tea leaves market appeared, and commercial tea was traded. The earliest tea leaves market was in Chengdu and Wuyang. Meanwhile, a lot of literature included tea planting, making, and cooking techniques. In the Six Dynasties, especially the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316), Buddhism prevailed, promoting the production of tea leaves. There are three reasons why tea leaves were closely related to Buddhism. 1. Drinking tea could help Buddhist disciples stay awake all night during their meditation. 2. Tea leaves could help to digest. 3. Drinking tea could suppress the human desire and help them to focus. Tea leaves in a way helped Buddhism to spread. All these laid foundations for the further development of tea culture.

Formation of Chinese Tea Culture

In Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Chinese country achieved unprecedented unity. The economic and cultural communications between ethnicities promoted the development and prosperity of Chinese culture and helped to form the Chinese Tea Culture. There was a folk tale that Wen Emperor of Sui Dynasty used to have a headache. He dreamed of an immortal telling him a kind of herb could ease the pain. Later, he acquired such herb (the tea leaves) and kept drinking it; his headache did gradually disappeared. Since then, the tea-drinking became a fashion around the whole of China. In the Tang Dynasty, people further explored the cooking methods of tea leaves and put forward the diet therapy regimen. In the middle Tang Dynasty, the first tea monograph “The Book of the Tea” came out.

Development Peak of Chinese Tea Culture

In the Song Dynasty, the Chinese Tea Culture further developed and reached a peak. In this period, the tea plantations were greatly expanded, and the production increased dramatically, along with which was the advancement of tea making techniques. The biggest change was that the Song people began to steam and fry green loose tea leaves instead of cake tea leaves as in the Tang Dynasty. This advancement was a technological revolution, considerably improving the taste of commercial tea leaves. People also attached more importance to tea-drinking sanity. As people couldn’t live without drinking tea, the Song government began to control the supply of tea leaves and executed the policy of “Trade of Tea and Horse." A load of tea leaves could trade one battle-steed. With the prevailing of tea drinking, the “Tea Fighting” appeared. People tended to hunt for better tea leaves and bettered their tea making process to produce better tea beverage. The tea appreciation and drinking at that time were more like a spiritual enjoyment for Song people. More tea monographs came out.

Diversification of Chinese Tea Culture

In the Ming Dynasty, the tea leaves were further explored and six types of tea appeared. Meanwhile, different tea beverage making methods appeared, driving the production of the tea set. One of the greatest creations was the dark-red enameled pottery.

In the Qing Dynasty, people focused on the discovery of tea types, enriching the tea types of China. At that time, the countries that produced tea leaves only had red or green tea, while China had six major types of tea, and its making techniques were unparalleled. The capitalist and imperialist powers fought for tea export control. Britain was one of the fiercest of them and controlled the export of Chinese tea leaves for over 200 years. In the beginning, the British businessmen just bought the tea leaves with silver dollars. Later, they traded tea leaves with cloth, but the cloth demand was very limited. Therefore, they turned to the opium business for tea leaves. The out-flowing of tea leaves reached the highest point in 1880. The imperialist powers monopolized the market, causing a lot of tea leaves unsalable. At a time, the Qing government distributed tea leaves to soldiers as salary. Tea beverage making was more causal and the public tea culture was formed.

Seven Major Types of Chinese Tea and Ten Best Tea Brands

7 Major Types of Chinese Tea

1.Green Tea

The Green Tea doesn’t belong to the fermented tea. It is the oldest and most popular tea in China, and mainly produced in Henan, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Sichuan, Yunan, Guangxi, Hubei and Shaanxi.

2.Yellow Tea

The Yellow Tea is the lightly fermented tea, and mainly produced in Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Zhejiang and Guangdong.

3.Red Tea

The Red Tea is the fully fermented tea, and mainly produced in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian.

4.Oolong Tea

The Oolong Tea is the generic term for half-fermented tea. The main production areas for Oolong Tea are Guangdong, Fujian, and Taiwan.

5.White Tea

The White Tea belongs to non-fermented tea and it is mainly produced in Fujian.

6.Black Tea

The Black Tea is the late fermented tea. It’s a unique tea that only existed in China. The major producing areas of the Black Tea are Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guangxi.

7.Herbal Tea

Any tea made from flowers, leaves, seeds, or roots is called herbal tea, such as Chrysanthemum tea, wolfberry tea, and ginseng tea.

10 Most Best Tea Brands

1.West Lake Longjing Tea (Dragon Well Tea)

2.Jiangsu Biluochun Tea

3.Anhui Maofeng Tea

4.Hunan Junshan Yinzhen Tea

5.Xinyang Maojian Tea

6.Anhui Keemun Black Tea

7.Anhui Guapian Tea

8.Duyun Maojian Tea

9.Wuyi Rock Tea

10.Fujian Tieguanyin Tea

10 Benefits of Chinese Tea

1.Drinking Chinese Tea can refresh one’s mind and strengthen one’s memory and thinking capabilities;1.Drinking Chinese Tea can refresh one’s mind and strengthen one’s memory and thinking capabilities;
2.Tea leaves contain a lot of microelements that can benefit the human body;
3.Drinking tea can prevent senile cataract;
4.Drinking tea can excite the nervous centralis and strengthen one’s athletic ability;
5.Tea leaves can help to control the growth of malignant cells;
6.Drinking tea can help to lose weight, especially the Oolong Tea;
7.Drinking tea can help to prevent hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and cerebral thrombosis;
8.Drinking tea can allay tiredness, promote metabolism, and help to maintain the normal functions of the heart, blood vessels, and intestines.
9.Drinking tea can restrain the aging of human cells and prolong life span;
10.Drinking tea can prevent dental decay and eliminate multiple types of bacteria, preventing stomatitis, sphagitis, enteritis, and dysentery.

4 Don’ts You Should Know About Tea Drinking

Do Not Drinking Strong Tea

Drinking strong tea will make the human body too excited, harming the blood vessel system and nervous system.

Do Not Drink Tea Before Sleep

Drinking tea before sleep can cause insomnia and impact your spirit day time.

Do Not Drink During Meal

It’s ok to have a little tea before or during the meal. But too much or too strong tea will compromise the nutrition you absorbed from the meal.

Do Not Have Tea After Drinking Alcohol

After drinking, the ethanol will pass your intestines and enter blood vessels, and be transformed into acetaldehyde, which will further be transformed into acetic acid. The acetic acid will be disposed into carbon dioxide and water. However, if you drink tea, the theophylline will immediately help the acetaldehyde to go to your kidney, which will stimulate your kidney. Thus, the people who drink strong tea after drinking are prone to have nephropathy. Besides, the tea can also excite your heart just as the ethanol, those two elements come together will do more harm to you.

Chinese Tea Ceremony

Step 1: Clean hands and admire the tea set
Clean hands and prepare for tea making. Bring out the tea set for guests to admire. The tea set should better be the chinaware from Jingde Town or the Zisha pot from Yixing.

Step 2: Warm the Teapot and Cups
All the teapot and cups will be cleaned with hot water to preheat the tea set.

Step 3: Put Tea Leaves into the Teapot
Put the moderate amount of tea leaves into the teapot.

Step 4: Clean the Tea Leaves
Pour the boiling water into the teapot and allow the tea leaves to be soaked in water for a few minutes and then pour out the water immediately. The impurities on the surface of tea leaves will be filtered.

Step 5: Brew Tea
Pour boiling water into the teapot again. Remember to pour three times before the teapot is full.

Step 6: Take Out the Floating Tea Leaves
The water level must be a little higher than the mouth of the teapot. Then, carefully use the pot lid to take out the floating tea leaves so that people won’t taste the tea leaves.

Step 7: Cover the Teapot with Pot Lid
Cover the teapot with the lid to store the sweetness inside. The preheating process is also for this purpose.

Step 8: Divide Teacups
Prepare for tea drinking. Divide the cups into two sets, one for tea smelling and one for tea tasting, and put them all on the saucer.

Step 9: Pour Tea into Teacups
Gently pour the same amount of tea in each cup for tasting, and be careful not to splash.

Step 10: Pour Tea Soup into the Teacups for Smelling
Pour the tea soup into cups for smelling and keep in mind, and make sure to have 70% of the cup.

Step 11: Offer Tea
Hold the teacup with both hands and offer it gently to the guests.

Step 12: Smell Tea
Guests will pour the tea soup into the teacup for tasting and gently smell the sweetness of the tea.

Step 13: Taste Tea
Guests slowly taste the tea, between the tea, they can talk.

For More Chinese Food and Drink Culture

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2. Eight Famous Chinese Cuisines

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