tea culture in China

[skylee]

pazu, so I am one of the tourists, not the old people.

[Guest Chan]

So far I just could get any fake chinese tea from big European brands like "Messmer". I love it tho, but then I went to CHina town in Amsterdam, and I didnt know which tea to buy.

I like sweet, strong-flavoured or spicy green tea the most (like Ginkgo or Lychee teas) I bought "Pu-Err" Tea and it tastes so boring. Even Jasmine tea is better.

What is your favorite tea? Tell me, I wanna try out next time I get to any China Town

[grasshopper]

Hi Chan,

Try Gunpowder Tea, it's packed in small green boxes and the color looks like the gunpowder in firecrakcers. It's a pretty strong taste.

You have to put 1/3 of cold water in the teapot and poor 2/3 boiled water with it, then add the tea and let it in for about 4 minutes. Good for your health.

This tea is available at wah nam hong on De Geldersekade, Chinatown A'Dam. It's next to a canal.

[eric]

beer > tea

chinese people in beijing like to say drinking tea helps you digest fat. Though I don't know if that can be substantiated.

But it sure is nice to have cheap local beer everywhere.

[grasshopper]

For centuries, traditional Chinese medicine has recommended green tea for various conditions including body aches and pains, immune enhancement, and as an energizer.

The active constituents in green tea are the polyphenols, particularly the catechin, epigallocatechin gallate. The polyphenols are believed to be responsible for green tea’s promotion of good health. Many fat burners add green tea to their product not only for its overall health benefits but also for its natural source of caffeine. The caffeine in green tea increases metabolic rate, energy levels and stamina.

So the beijing folks are quite right.

[skylee]

I have come across this poem written by Tang Dynasty poet 元稹. The format of the poem is called 寶塔詩.

《茶》

.................茶。

............香葉，嫩芽。

.........慕詩客，愛僧家。

.......碾雕白玉，羅織紅紗。

.....銚煎黃蕊色，碗轉麴塵花。

...夜後邀陪明月，晨前命對朝霞。

洗盡古今人不倦，將知醉後豈堪誇。

[MadLu]

Tea, the green ones, seems very good for health, reduces risks of getting breast cancer...

pretty interesting!

http://www.about-china.com/Culture_tea_home.htm

[bhchao]

For those who love drinking tea, the Song Dynasty was probably the best time to experience it all. Tea-drinking was a national phenomenon during the Song Dynasty, when tea houses held constant tea competitions among themselves.

Scholars and court officials discussing policy matters or literary works would engage in 斗茶. First the tea powder was brewed in a black cup to make it easier to detect the white powder. Then they checked who was the first to have a line of powder closest to the drinking rim of the cup. Finally whoever had the most white lines won the competition.

[Dermot]

The white powder?