Chinese tea culture

In the beginning, tea was a luxury item used mainly by nobles and royalty.[5] The elite began to drink tea to energize the body and clear the mind instead of only for medical purposes.[2] Teas were boiled with other plants to make a tea soup which was considered a combination of medicine, food, and drink.[4] The consumption of the soup did not become popular among the masses due to its bitter taste.[6] Records also indicate that ritual worship during the Zhou dynasty included tea ceremonies led by officials. Tea was considered an exotic plant from southern China, so it was offered as tribute to the emperor and was served to the nobles.[4][6]

Improved picking and processing of wild tea refined the taste of tea.[2] It became a pleasant source of refreshment popular with the nobles.[2]

As the tea culture developed, it is mainly concentrated in the upper class among literati, monks, the monarch, and his officials.[7] Tea was set against wine as a beneficial drink, with wine being ‘violence and intoxication’ and tea ‘freshness and purity'.[2] During this period, tea became the backdrop to deep philosophical discussions and a part of religious thought among Buddhists and Taoists. Buddhists believed it helped prevent dreariness, and Taoists believed it kept a person young and led to immortality.[2] Before the Tang dynasty, tea was used and consumed mainly by the upper classes for medicine, sacrifice, tribute, or ceremonial purposes, yet not enjoyed and appreciated by the masses.[4]

During the Tang dynasty, tea culture or ‘the art of tea’ began to spread widely throughout China.[3] A method of processing tea known as 'green stemming' was developed, making it more pleasant to drink, adding to its popularity.[2] At the same time, a new tea-making technique, known as roasting and baking, was invented during this period.[8] The Ancient Tea Horse Road development matured trade routes between Southern and Northwest China, and Tibet.[5] The completion of the Grand Canal established a cost-effective method of transporting goods in China, making tea less expensive.[5] Opening up trade routes and new processing techniques was vital to establishing tea as a national drink throughout China.[5]

Artisans produced hundreds of examples of tea art, such as poems, drawings, songs, and literature. Tea houses and tea shops were also established during this time.[2]

The Classic of Tea (780) A significant contribution to the evolution of tea culture during the Tang dynasty was an important work of literature by tea connoisseur Lu Yu, in which he analyzed every aspect of tea.[6] The Classic of Tea was the first monograph regarding the study of tea, which consisted of ten chapters ranging from the history of tea, its cultivation, and how to prepare, serve, and drink it. Lu Yu also provided an overview of Chinese tea culture.[6] He encouraged commoners to drink tea by including a section on what tea utensils could be omitted if one could not afford them. Lu Yu is known as the ‘Sage of Tea’ and the ‘God of Tea’ because of his profound influence on tea culture.[3] His classic book tied drinking tea to spiritual matters, the arts, the Chinese way of life, morals, and philosophy. Though the majority of the Chinese population did not read it, intellectuals, nobility, and spiritual leaders embraced it. Confucian teachings indicated that the world should be managed, improved, and taught morals through classical learning. According to Liu, “Chinese intelligentsia regarded culture, or all literature and knowledge, as the carrier or instrument of human morality serving to carry out the civilizing function of the Tao (the way that the universe functions).”[4] Lu Yu's classic writing helped transform an enjoyable beverage into an art woven into Chinese culture.[4]

The tea culture flourished during the Song dynasty.[2] In the Song dynasty, detailed standards emerged for judging the color, aroma, and taste of tea.[9] Tea art, the tea ceremony, and tea houses continued to increase in popularity. “By the Song, a reputation for elegance required mastery of go (weiqi), zither, calligraphy, painting, shi and qu poetry, and tea.” These were considered the polite accomplishments of gentlemen.[6] Some examples of tea literature, which was prolific at this time, are Record of Tea by Cai Xiang, and General Remarks on Tea, by Emperor Huizong, Zhao Ji.[2]

China's monopoly on tea allowed them to use it as a powerful diplomatic tool.[5] The Song established 'Tea and Horse Offices' (chamasi 茶马司) to oversee the trading of tea for horses along the Tea Horse Road with Tibet and Northwest China.[10] They required large numbers of warhorses to fight battles with invading northern nomadic Liao, Jin, and Xixia.[10] When disputes arose, the dynastic government would threaten to cut off the tea trade and close of the 'Tea and Horse offices'.[5]

The traditional tea culture with the elite and scholars became more complex, with the addition of numerous rules, tea culture continued to spread to the masses. Regional variations of tea culture formed throughout China. Tea cultivation moved from wild tea plants to established farming, leading to tea being traded worldwide.[2] ‘Tribute tea’ was the gifting of high-quality tea to the emperor to honor him. It was developed into a large government bureaucracy that managed tea cultivation on rural farms and transported it to the dynastic government.[6] The officials who oversaw the work often wrote poetry regarding their experiences and the intimate knowledge of the tea harvesting process.[6] Picking began before dawn and stopped once the sun had risen. The poem by Southern Song tea expert Xiong Fan reads, “‘Throngs tussle, trampling new moss. I turn my head toward first blush over the dragon’s field. A warden beating a gong to urge haste, they carry baskets of tea down the mountain. When picking tea, one is not allowed to see the sunrise.’”[6] The poem looks at the appreciation of tea as it acquired cultural significance throughout China. It also revealed how tea was harvested by studious pickers and focused on the official's personal experience, which was often described as a beautiful scene.[6]

Tea was traded or produced worldwide.[5] Under Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong's rule (1949–1976), China was mostly isolated from global markets.[5] In the 1960s, under Mao's leadership, during the period known as the Great Leap Forward, tea production was significantly limited, and tea houses and shops were for the most part closed.[3] The Cultural Revolution was also a period in which China’s tea culture suffered.[3]

Under the leadership of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping China has experienced double-digit economic growth, which has spurred a rebirth of the tea industry and the traditional aspect of tea culture. "A sense of self and nation has coalesced around tea."[5] China is the leading producer of tea once again.[3]

China currently offers various ways to experience cultural tea tourism, such as museums, tea trails, guided tours, tea houses, tea shops, tea markets, and tea tastings.[3] There is one tea museum in mainland China and another in Taiwan. The National Tea Museum on the mainland can be found in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, which maintains a variety of Chinese tea culture exhibits.[11]

A revitalization of the traditional tea house throughout China has been spurred on by the introduction of new designer tea houses that cater to the young urban population.[3]

Hospitality is important in Chinese culture, and offering tea to a guest is considered customary practice. A guest is expected to accept the tea and take at least a sip as a sign of appreciation.[13]

According to Chinese tradition, members of the younger generation should show their respect to members of the older generation by offering a cup of tea.[16] Inviting their elders to restaurants for tea is a traditional holiday activity. Newly married couples serve tea to their elder family members. In the past, people of a lower social class served tea to the upper class in society. Today, with the increasing liberalization of Chinese society, this rule and its connotations have become blurred.

In Chinese culture, tea may be offered as part of a formal apology. For example, children who have misbehaved may serve tea to their parents as a sign of regret and submission.

In the traditional Chinese marriage ceremony, the bride and groom kneel in front of their respective parents, as well as elderly relatives such as grand parents and serve them tea and then thank them, together which represents an expression of their gratitude and respect. According to the tradition, the bride and groom serve both families. This process symbolizes the joining of the two families.

The tea was cooked directly in the kettle. This was the most common tea method in China's Tang dynasty. Before boiling the tea, crush the tea leaves, boil the water, and put in the seasoning, then sprinkle the tea powder into the pot.[17] When drinking, the tea dregs and tea soup together while hot, called "eat tea". Tang people cooking tea once like to add seasoning to the tea soup, such as salt, onion, ginger or orange peel, and so on.

This method of drinking tea was used in the Song dynasty, and tea people ate from this method.[18] Song dynasty tea drinking method rose to the height of aesthetics and reached the ultimate. They decorated the tea cake with many dragon and phoenix patterns, very delicate, called "dragon and phoenix group tea". When drinking tea, first, the cake tea is crushed into a fine powder, with boiling water, to brew some tea. To make the tea powder and water into one, with a tea brush quickly hit, the tea and water fully mingle and make a lot of white tea froth. This is where the Japanese matcha ceremony originated.

By the Ming dynasty, the tea-making and drinking method was simplified again and again. Zhu Yuanzhang vigorously promoted loose tea, which led to tea alienation, before only green tea, and then slowly appeared other tea types.[19] The tea brewing method continues today, brewing tea without any seasoning, drinking the original taste of tea, the authentic flavor, while the tea tools and techniques used to brew tea also simplified a lot, more conducive to the spread of tea culture.

A Yixing clay teapot

Gongfu cha, meaning "making tea with skill", is a popular method of tea ceremony in China. It makes use of small Yixing teapots holding about 100–150 ml (4 or 5 fl.oz.), the size being thought to enhance the aesthetics and to "round out" the taste of the tea being brewed. Small tea cups are being used along with Yixing teapots. Gongfu tea is best consumed after meal to help digestion. Brewing tea in a Yixing teapot can be done for private enjoyment as well as to welcome guests. Depending on the region of China, there may be differences in the steps of brewing as well as the tools used in the process. For example, Taiwanese-style gongfu cha makes use of several additional instruments including tweezers and a tea strainer.[22] The procedure is mostly applicable to oolong teas, but it is some used to make pu'er and other fermented teas.

Different teawares can affect people's expectations of tea.[23] First of all, different teaware will affect how people feel about drinking tea. When tea is drunk with a tea set that looks ornamental, people's mood will become pleasant; when the teaware is not so ornamental, people's pleasure in drinking tea will be reduced. Secondly, the visual effect of the teaware affects people's expectations of the bitterness of the tea.[23] The better the teaware, the more bitter people will think the tea is, and the more bitter the tea is, the better the tea is. So the teaware also influences people's judgment of the value of tea when no price information was provided. The practice of drinking tea was considered to be an expression of personal morality, education, social principles, and status. The price of tea ware varies depending on the material and quality of it. A set of jade tea ware can cost hundreds of thousands dollars whereas a set of low quality tea ware may only cost less than a hundred dollars. Increased enthusiasm for tea drinking led to the greater production of teaware.

Ancient Chinese scholars used the teahouse as a place for sharing ideas.[24] The teahouse was where political allegiances and social rank were said to have been temporarily suspended in favor of honest and rational discourse. It is a paradise for tea lovers, but also a place for people to rest, recreation and socialization. Likewise, the teahouse is a microcosm or window of society, Chinese teahouse has a long history, as early as the Tang Emperor Xuanzong period, only then not called the teahouse called "tea store". The leisurely consumption of tea promoted conviviality and civility among the participants. The teahouse is not only a minor by-product of Chinese tea culture; it offers historical evidence of Chinese tea history. Today, people can also sense a humanistic atmosphere in Beijing's Lao She Teahouse and other East China cities like Hangzhou, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, Shaoxing, Shanghai, and other places. The teahouse atmosphere is still dynamic and vigorous.

Large teahouses can be equipped with stages performing traditional arts

In modern China, virtually every dwelling has a set of tea implements for brewing a cup of hot tea. They are symbols of welcome for visitors or neighbors. Traditionally, a visitor to a Chinese home is expected to sit down and drink tea while talking; visiting while remaining standing is considered uncouth. Folding the napkin in tea ceremonies is a traditional act in China performed to keep away bad qi energy. In Taiwan, tea ceremonies are held not only in daily life but also on important occasions.

Tea was regarded as one of the seven daily necessities, the others being firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.[7] There are many different types of tea such as: green tea, oolong tea, red tea, black tea, white tea, yellow tea, puerh tea and flower tea. Traditionally, fresh tea leaves are regularly turned over in a deep bowl. This process allows the leaves dry in a way that preserves their full flavor, ready for use.