History of Tea in China

[reitia]

Dear friends,

 

I am conducting research on ancient China, and would like to learn more about the early history of tea cultivation, the tea ritual and the most prized varieties of this wonderful fragrant leaf from the Tang Dynasty on. I've read that tea drinking first became popular in the Tang era; but it must have been practised before then, perhaps in monasteries. Please send me information about tea in ancient China; if you know some really detailed, well-illustrated books in English or French, please let me know.

 

Today, Chinese white tea is very popular. It seems that this exquisite variety, which when immersed in boiled water produces a delicate, honey-sweet golden liquid, was the favourite of the Chinese emperors, and was reserved for them alone. At any rate, this is the tea which I enjoy most.

[abcdefg]

You will find some useful information here. (Much of lecture 2 deals with tea culture during the Tang.)

 

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/49617-laszlo-montgomery-on-the-history-of-chinese-tea-%E2%80%93-a-listening-guide/

 

You will need to read up on Lu Yu 陆羽, the "Tea Sage" and his definitive book, the Cha Jing 茶经 if you haven't already. Also, take a look at Laszlo's bibliography. 

 

As to other kinds of tea, such as green tea, red tea, Oolong and Pu'er, perhaps check out some of the other tea threads here on the forum in the "Food and Drink" section.

 

Today, Chinese white tea is very popular... At any rate, this is the tea which I enjoy most.

 

I like white tea too. Which white teas do you usually drink? Would have to say Bai Mudan 白牡丹 is probably my favorite at the moment. In the Spring, I really enjoy a nice Baihao Yinzhen  白毫银针。Fuding (in Fujian Province) produces some great ones.

[reitia]

Hello abcdefg,

 

Sorry for my delay in answering you. I have been extremely busy with several types of cultural research.

 

Thank you for the useful information. Unfortunately I don't read Chinese (yet!). Could you please tell me if the two titles you mentioned are available in English translation?

 

As for white tea, the kind available here in Italy is mostly of a generic commercial type, vaguely called "te bianco". It comes in tea bags; what a sacrilege! But I have been fortunate enough to find imported loose Bai mu dan...What a lovely flavour! The true Queen of Tea.

 

Pu'erh is also delicious. I must confess that I do not much enjoy green tea, which I find insipid unless sweetened with sugar and jasmine.

[abcdefg]

Hello Reitia,

 

Lu Yu (also known as the Tea Sage or Tea Saint) lived during the Tang, so he would be of interest to you. So far as I know, only parts of his treatise on tea (The Cha Jing) have been translated into English, not the whole thing.

 

Here's a description and a table of contents:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Classic_of_Tea

 

The other reference I mentioned is a series of lectures (in English.) The second one deals with tea culture in China during the Tang. It is described here, and that post has a link to the original podcasts so you can check them out at your leisure.

 

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/49617-laszlo-montgomery-on-the-history-of-chinese-tea-%E2%80%93-a-listening-guide/

 

----------------------------------------------------

 

Edited to add -- I located an English translation. (Have not read it.)

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Classic-Tea-Yu-Lu/dp/0316534501

[reitia]

Thanks, abcdefg. I'll have a look at the links you sent me.

 

Today I tried a kind of Earl Grey tea called Yin Zheng. It was the first time I have ever seen this variety (if indeed it is a special variety: Earl Grey, as far as I know, is simply black tea with bergamot flavour added). Could you give me some information about Yin Zheng?

[Geiko]

Hi, reitia! The yin zhen, (also called bai hao yin zhen, as @abcdefg mentioned in #2) also known as silver needle, is a very famous type of white tea. What you probably drank was a Dammann Frères blend of Earl Grey mixed with yin zhen tea.

[Guest realmayo]

I have a book called The True History of Tea by professor of Chinese Victor Mair ... but I remember being disappointed by it.

[abcdefg]

#5 & #6 -- @Reitia and @Geiko --

 

I'll bet Geiko is right. It does sound tasty, though I have never tried it. When I'm back in the West, a nice cup of Earl Gray is one of the pleasures I always enjoy there. Here in China, I generally stick with more traditional Chinese teas, since they are so easily available fresh, from knowledgeable vendors in loose leaf form.

 

I generally follow the seasons, taking a cue from my Chinese friends, and drink different tea at different times of year. Others, of course, are year-round companions. (Example of that would be Dian Hong 滇红茶。)

 

One of the small pleasures of living in Kunming is going out to sample new tea. The vendors will brew it up and let you make on-the-spot comparisons with other tea in their stock. I always learn something from chatting with them while trying their wares.

 

They also invariably know the best way to brew their own tea in order to get the most flavor from it. I get good practical tips on how much of the dry leaves to put into the pot, water temperature, and brewing time. I can observe and ask questions.

 

Then I try to reproduce their results at home, and if I hit a snag I just return to the shop with more questions. Most tea sellers kind of like that sort of dialogue since they are invariably "into tea" in a big way and enjoy talking about it.

 

#7 -- @Realmayo

 

I haven't read that book, but I've read several others. Never have found one that I would call the definitive tome on the subject. Invariably they have some strong spots followed by some weak spots.

 

Seems to me from my study of tea that the best sources are blogs and just talking with the professionals. In tea, much seems to rely on "oral tradition." And there is definitely a lack of agreement. Much "tea wisdom" seems to be regional.

 

Here in Yunnan, it's easy to pick up lots of information and lore about Pu'er. It is beloved here and nearly everyone drinks it. But even within Pu'er circles, there are definite biases. For example, my teachers and mentors here in Kunming all think Raw Puer/Sheng Pu'er 生普洱 is the cat's whiskers, and turn up their noses at Ripe Pu'er/Shou Pu'er 熟普洱。

[reitia]

Hello Geiko,

 

Thanks for this information. The tea I sampled was indeed produced by Damman Frères...I had not associated "Yin Zheng", as Damman writes it, with Bai hao yin zhen. And I had no idea that I was drinking white tea of such a prized quality! Earl Grey in the occident is most often prepared with black tea, I think.

 

Unfortunately I've never tried red tea...How does its flavour compare with white varieties? In which part of China is red tea most popular?

[reitia]

Dear abcdefg and realmayo,

 

There must be thousands of books about tea...Most ARE disappointing, because they over-stress cultivation and production, often neglecting historical aspects, detailed descriptions of the tea varieties, information on the tea ceremony in various countries, benefits to the health etc.

 

What a wonderful opportunity you have, abcdefg, to converse daily with tea merchants, to sample a wide variety of luscious teas, many of which would be difficult to obtain in the west. I can just imagine your lively, knowledgeable discussions with these merchants. This must be truly pleasurable...what a great chance to acquire tea facts and lore, "in the most delightful way", as Mary Poppins would express it.

 

In Italy, it's easy to find assortments of different kinds of tea, in tea bags unfortunately but tasty nevertheless. In China, can you also find packaged commercial assortments of the Twinings type, in which 6-8 flavours are presented to customers? This kind of assortment is appealing because it gives buyers the opportunity to drink a different tea each day, depending on the mood of the day.

[abcdefg]

Unfortunately I've never tried red tea...How does its flavour compare with white varieties? In which part of China is red tea most popular?

 

The flavor is much more robust, rounded and forward than white tea or green tea. Several parts of China produce famous red tea, and Yunnan, where I live, has one of the best. You might enjoy a look at this red tea thread, in which it is described, including some pictures.

 

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/48661-dian-hong-%E6%BB%87%E7%BA%A2%E8%8C%B6-yunnans-simplest-tea/

 

In China, can you also find packaged commercial assortments of the Twinings type, in which 6-8 flavours are presented to customers?

 

Not really, so far as I know, although supermarkets and some upscale stores do have packaged tea. I've never seen small-sized "sampler assortments," although they could exist. I've never really looked for them.

 

Going to a tea shop, however, lets you sample whatever you'd like to try before buying. Plus it's free to taste, without any buying pressure (as long as you are not on the tourist trail.) 

 

Tea in China, as least for us "natives," is usually sold bulk, from a large container. They will scoop out the amount you would like to buy; they sell it by weight. (I'm not really a native; just joking about that.)

 

And I had no idea that I was drinking white tea of such a prized quality! Earl Grey in the occident is most often prepared with black tea, I think.

 

If I'm reading the description correctly, this tea is actually a black tea, not a white tea at all. Black tea and red tea are the same thing; just two different names for it. In the West, it is called black tea; in China, the same product is called red tea.

 

Actually, the one described in the website you are looking at is a Keemun, one of China's best black/red teas. It's from Anhui Province, and has just been scented with bergamot (a variety of citrus fruit) to make it into Earl Grey.

 

Une sélection de thés fins de la région du Keemun, enrichie de pointes blanches et aromatisée à la bergamote de Calabre. L'équilibre idéal de cet Earl Grey supérieur saura satisfaire les plus exigeants.

• Note dominante : Agrumes
• Type de thé : Thé noir
• Saveur principale : Bergamote

 

http://www.dammann.fr/fr/the-noir-earl-grey-yin-zhen.html

[Geiko]

@abcdefg I'm not 100% sure either, but I'd say that the Dammann Frères blend mixes black tea (Keemun) with Yinzhen ("enrichie de pointes blanches") plus the usual bergamot. I don't know why they did it, maybe it was just an excuse to sell it more expensive, because, in my opinion, the bergamot and the keemun will make it impossible to appreciate the silver needles, but well.

 

Edit: It seems that it's not an exclusive blend of Dammann Frères, it is sold under slightly different names in many tea shops (Earl Grey silver tips, White Earl Grey, Earl Grey pointes blanches, Earl Grey supérieur...).

[abcdefg]

I don't know why they did it, maybe it was just an excuse to sell it more expensive, because, in my opinion, the bergamot and the keemun will make it impossible to appreciate the silver needles, but well.

 

I agree with you, Geiko. It is puzzling.

 

At first I thought that perhaps there was a Silver Needle Keemun tea that I had just never encountered. But my searching on-line turned up nothing.

 

I've been to the area where it is grown, Qimen County 祁门县, in Anhui Province, not far from Yellow Mountain 黄山, but don't remember seeing it there. Bought some really noble and rich dark Keemun black tea as well as some Huangshan Maofeng 黄山毛峰。 The latter tea leaves are indeed more or less "needle-shaped," but they are made by a green tea process (which includes an early 杀青 wok roasting step) instead of being made by a white tea process. 

 

If I had more time and spoke better French, I might even write to Dammann Frères and ask them about it. I realize their excellent reputation as purveyors of high quality merchandise, and would doubt they just made a simple mistake. Plus your finding similar teas by other on-line merchants lends support to that.

 

Oh well, you and I and Reitia are probably the only 3 people on the planet who actually care about figuring it out. And it probably tastes real good.

 

Footnote: This discussion has served as a useful reminder that most of what I know about tea is limited to Chinese tea. Plenty of other countries produce and consume excellent tea that is equally interesting and delicious. But, since life is short and I live in China, I decided early on to specialize.

[reitia]

Hello Geiko and abcdefg,

 

Your knowlege of Chinese tea is amazing and most admirable! Thanks for the lovely discussions! Abcdefg, I really enjoy the guide to red tea you've put together, with its beautiful photos...A job well done! Please do a similar one about white tea!

 

I never in my life suspected that red and black tea is one and the same...Well, live and learn!

[Geiko]

Here in Europe the expression "red tea" is very confusing, because it is sometimes used as a synonim for pu-erh, for rooibos or (less frequently) for black tea.

[reitia]

Hello Geiko,

 

Rooibos is not a true tea at all. It grows on a South African bush and is a rember of the legume family.

[abcdefg]

Here in Europe the expression "red tea" is very confusing, because it is sometimes used as a synonim for pu-erh, for rooibos or (less frequently) for black tea.

 

I had no idea, @Geiko. That is confusing indeed.

[abcdefg]

@ Reitia -- #14

 

Please do a similar one about white tea!

 

It is handled exactly the same as green tea. Here's are two threads describing and discussing the process:

 

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/48541-how-to-make-green-tea-that-isnt-bitter/

 

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/48546-how-to-brew-green-tea-with-a-gaiwan-%E7%9B%96%E7%A2%97/