Chinese Tea中国茶

INTRODUCTIONChineseTea茶1DevelopedbyVictorHoEditedbyMiyakiXieChinaisconsideredthehomeoftea,andteaisdeeplywovenintothehistoryandcultureofChina,itisconsideredoneofthesevennecessitiesofChineselife,alongwithfirewood,rice,oil,salt,soysauceandvinegar.INTRODUCTION2HistoryThepracticeofdrinkingteahasalonghistoryinChina.Accordingtopopularlegend,teawasdiscoveredbyChineseEmperorShennong（神农）whenaleaffromanearbyshrubfellintowatertheemperorwasboiling.INTRODUCTION3INTRODUCTIONWesternZhouDynasty西周TeawasareligiousofferingTeacultureprospered,teashopsspreadingfastTeaprocessing,typesanddrinkingstylesformedMingDynasty明代1368--1644Teaasadrinkprospered;TheClassicsofTeawaswrittenPeopleatefreshtealeavesasvegetableFolkartenteredteashopsTheClassicOfTeaTeaHome4TheClassicsofTea《茶经》TheClassicsofTeaisthecornerstoneofChineseteaculturebyLuYu(TeaSageofChina).Thisbookdetailsvariousaspectsoftea,suchasthehistoryofChinesetea,growthareasforteatrees,waresandskillsforprocessingandtastingteaandnotesonwhatoccasionsteawaresshouldbecompleteandwhensomewarescouldbeomittedaswellasquotationsfromotherrecords,commentsonteafromvariousplaces.INTRODUCTION56VarietyofTeas1.Devideedbyhowteasareprocessed•GreenTea(绿茶）•OolongTea（乌龙茶）•BlackTea（红茶）•WhiteTea（白茶）•YellowTea（黄茶）•ScentedTea（花茶）2.Devideedbyhowteasarepacked•LooseTea（散茶）•CompressedTea（紧压茶）Varieties1.DevideedbyhowteasareprocessedVARIETIESGreentea（绿茶）mostnaturalteaclassonlydriedwithheatandundergoesnofermentationprocesshavethemostmedicinalvalueofteasandverylowcaffeineLongJing7VARIETIESOolongTea（乌龙茶）half-fermentedandrelativelythickinflavorpopularinSouth-EastChinasuchasFujian,GuangdongandinTaiwanemulsifierforfatandcholesterolBlackTea（红茶）fullyfermentedteagoodforcleaningupthedigestivechannelbecauseit'sanemulsifierforfatandcholesterol.8VARIETIESWhiteTea（白茶）unfermentedandisnaturallydriedusingeithersundryingorsteamingsimilartogreenteaexceptthatit'sroastedandhasahigherproportionofbudstoleaves.hasthelowestcaffeinecontentandisverylightincolorandaromaYellowTea（黄茶）mostsimilartogreenteaThesmellofyellowteaisclosetothatofblacktea9VARIETIESScentedTea（花茶）Thebaseofflowerteacanbeblack,greenorwhateverthecolor.Theningredientslikeflowerpetalsmightbeadded.popularinNorthernChina.Scented102.DevideedbyhowteasarepackedVARIETIESLoosetea（散茶）tealeavesarepackagedlooselyinacanister,paperbag,orothercontainersuchasateachest.Somewholeteas,suchasrolledgunpowdertealeaves,whichresistcrumbling,aresometimesvacuumpackedforfreshnessinaluminizedpackagingforstorageandretail.Thisallowsforflexibilityandflavorcontrol,lettingtheconsumerbrewweakerorstrongerteaasdesired.11VARIETIESCompressedtea（紧压茶）Someteas(particularlyPu-erteaandAnhuaTeaBricks)arestillcompressedfortransport,storage,andageingconvenience.Compressedteacakeshouldbestoredincontactwithairatroomtemperaturetoallowcontinuousfermentation.Itcanusuallybestoredforlongerperiodsoftimewithoutspoilagewhencomparedwithlooseleaftea.Theteaispreparedandsteepedbyfirstlooseningleavesoffthecompressedcakeusingasmallknife.12ProcessofDifferentTeas13ChineseFamousTeaChina'sFamousTeas(中国名茶)ortheTop10ChineseTeas(中国十大名茶)isalistofthetenmostnotableChineseteas.Thelistvariesconsiderablydependingontheareawhereitiscompiledandthecurrenttrendofteaconsumption.BiluochunJunshanYinzhenKeemunLongjingteaHuangshanMaofengteaLu'anMelonSeedTieguanyinTaipinghoukuiXinyangMaojianDaHongPaoFAMOUSTEAS14FAMOUSTEAS1.LongjingteasimplifiedChinese:龙井茶;pinyin:lóngjǐngcháLongjingtea,sometimescalledbyitsliteraltranslatednameDragonWelltea,isavarietyofpan-roastedgreenteafromHangzhou,ZhejiangProvincewhereitisproducedmostlybyhandandhasbeenrenownedforitshighquality.Hangzhou,Zhejiang15Longjing,whichliterallytranslatesasdragonwell,issaidtohavenamedafterawellthatcontainsrelativelydensewater.afterrain,thelighterrainwaterfloatingonitssurfacesometimesexhibitsasinuousandtwistingboundarywiththewellwater,whichissupposedtoresemblethemovementofaChinesedragon.FAMOUSTEASLongjingisdividedintosixgrades:Superiorandthen1downto5.Beforeinfusion,higherqualityLongjingteashaveaverytight,flatshapeandlightgreencolor.16ThebestLongjingTeaisMingqianorPre-Qingming(明前龙井).Thepremiumearlyseasonfirst-pickingknownasMingQianLongjingtearequiresittobeproducedfromthefirstspringshootspriortotheQingmingFestivalonthe5thofAprileachyear(approximately).Theproductioncycleisveryshort,usuallyonlytendaysbeforeQingmingeveryyear.TeapickedafterthisperiodisofalowergradecalledYuqianLongjing(雨前龍井),orDragonWellBeforetheRain.FAMOUSTEAS17Forbestinfusionresults,waterataround75-80°Cor167-176°Fshouldbeusedtobrewthetealeaves.There’salsolegendthattoachievethebesttastefromLongjing,oneshouldusewaterfromtheDreamingoftheTigerSpring（虎跑泉）,afamousspringinHangzhou.AlthoughitiscommonpracticenowadaystosteepLongjingteainporcelainorglassware,therealtasteprofileofafinerLongjingisachievedonlybyusingagenuine,slightlyporous,Yixingclayteapot（宜兴陶壶）.FAMOUSTEAS18Varieties:XihuLongjing西湖龙井XiHu(WestLake)isaplacewherethisparticularLongjingisgrown.ThisLongjing,alsoknownasWestLakeLongjing,isthemostfamousone.Historically,XihuLongjingi