By: Julia Aidan
Submitted: 2011-12-21 02:21:32 | Word Count: 610
The tea is an intricate part of Chinese culture and that is almost 5000 years of habit. Perhaps in keeping with the ancient folklore in 2737 BC the creation of a brew transpired. It all happened by chance when a camellia blossom was dropped into a cup of boiled drinking water which was belonged to Emperor Shen Nung. According to some scholars its mention was found in an historic Chinese dictionary named Erh Ya which extends back to 350 BC.
The value of tea in the ancient time was originally based upon its medicinal qualities. For the reason that ancient time it has been identified that tea aid in digestion and for this justification most Chinese people have a cup of tea soon after meals. The concept of drinking tea during those times was to alleviate the nicotine content for the smokers. It was 8th century while the tea drinking grew to be an art form. This in fact led to the book of Lu Yu "The Classic Art of Tea".
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The former Buddhist and highly important poet used to be quite particular about the proper method of brewing, steeping as well as the manner of serving. Initially it was prepared with a porcelain container with slow moving stream water.The only ideal environment for experiencing the finished product i.e. tea was only a pavilion particularly the one close to a water lily pond. This delicacy was enjoyed in the circle of acceptable women. Some of his very functional tips on tea manufacturing are still in observed.
The Yu's publication enhanced the use of tea and it rolled down over the centuries. For that reason tea drinking became the popular matter for poems and books. Tea was then given as a reward by Emperors of those times. And, then tea houses began to surface in region. The Chinese tea is different from the Japanese tea who celebrate it as a ceremony but for the Chinese it is a healthy drink.
It is quite surprising to know that all kinds of tea genuinely come from one origin i.e. Camilla Sinensis bush. To be precise there are four groups of tea but there are numerous types of Chinese tea available. White tea is regarded as the nutritious one it is created from the immature tea leaves. The right time to pick these immature leaves is shortly before the buds have actually opened fully. The color of green tea leaves is retained as it is not fermented during processing. The costly tea which is available today is the Dragon tea, which is basically green tea. It is harvested in the mountains of Hanghou. The black tea is produced in a fermented process, which is also known as red tea because of its dark leaves.
The popular types of black tea feature Bo lei, which is a Cantonese tea. It is often drunk with milder tea, dim sum and luk on which are favored by the older people. Then there are oolong tea which happen to be partially fermented and makes for a black-green tea. The Oolong tea also known as Soi sin have a bitter taste and is generally grown in Fukien. The 'scented tea' is the fourth variety which is created by combining different flowers and petals or oolong tea. Among these the white tea and the jasmine tea are quite popular. Today, most of us don't have a pavilion or a lily pond nearby our backyard but still we can get pleasure from this ancient tea. However is it essential to know how to brew a perfect tea.
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Looking for Chinese tea? Check out Chinese tea shop.
