Herbal Drinks

Lemon Drink

Rose Petal Drink

Jasmine Drink

Winter-blossom Drink

Chrysanthemun Drink

Forget-me-not Drink

Mint Tea

Bitter Gourd Drink

Contents
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Derivation of English Word Tea Legendary Origins of Tea in China Functions of Tea Green Tea vs. Black Tea Tea Drinking Utensils Special Circumstances for Tea Drinking Tea Drinking & Sichuan Province Tea Drinking & Chengdu Tea Drinking Ceremony (video)

Derivation of English Word tea

It is one of few English words of Chinese origin. It is derived from the plants name as it is pronounced in Fujian Province in South China, which is tay. There are 2 sayings concerning the early spread of tea outside China. In the 17th century, tea was introduced into Indonesia, where local in Java picked up the sound of tay. Later, Dutch arrived there and soon learned how to drink tea. They brough tea back to Europe, where tay began to be known both on the continent and in Britain. The other saying is that the Portuguese opened up sea routes to China. They brought tea drinking habit and the tay word back to Portugal. By 1610, tea was shipped, on a regular

qi si tai ji quan bai cai xi nao chao mian ma jiang ke tou li zhi

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Bok choy brain washing Chi chow mein kowtow lychee Mahjong silk Tai Chi Ch'an

Legendary Origins of Tea in China

Over 5,000 years ago, there was a divine farmer ( shn nng), whos one of the noble figures in Chinese mythology and taught people agricultural and medicinal practice. One day, he sat beneath a tree and was ready to taste the herbs, while his servant began to boil some drinking water. By chance, some dry leaves dropped from the tree into the water. As usual, Shen Nong drank the boiled water, which tasted a little bitter, and looked slightly yellowish. It refreshed him. This is one of the legends about how tea trees
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Legendary Origins of Tea in China

Buddhist legends have another story. Once Bodhidharma ( p t d m ) stayed in a cave temple outside nn jn (), where he practiced meditation. One day as he meditated, he felt sleepy. He cut his eyelids in an attempt to keep himself awake; and to his surprise, tea plants sprang up from the ground where he tossed his severed eyelids. Later, he used the tea leaves to brew tea to help him stay awake for meditation.
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a Buddhist monk the transmitter of Zen (Chinese: Chn) to China the patron saint of the Shaolin Monastery have begun the physical training of the monks that later turned into

Kung Fu
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Functions of Tea
In ancient China, tea was regarded as one of 7 daily necessities, along with firewood ( chi), rice ( m), oil ( yu), salt ( yn), soy sauce ( jing), and vinegar ( c). But from the very beginning, tea was used as medicine. The ancient medical book, shn nn bn co Classics ( jn ) says that tea leaves taste bitter and so can make people spirited and think clearly. In Eating Classics ( sh jn ), Hua Tuo () says that the continuous

Green Tea vs. Black Tea

Green tea ( l ch) is tea that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Its popular in China and Japan, and recently has become popular in the West, where people only formally drank black tea. Black tea ( hn ch) appeared in the Qing Dynasty, while its color is closer to red. This drink is more heavily oxidized than the green variety, and is generally more flavorful. The only difference between green tea and black tea is that green tea keeps the original color of the tealeaves without fermentation during processing, while black tea is fermented before baking. Wulong tea ( w ln ch) is a traditional Chinese tea, which is semi-fermented, and has an oxidation time somewhat between that of green and black tea. ti un yn () from Fujian Province is considered the excellent grade of Wulong tea.

Tea Drinking Utensils

The use of tea wares has a long tradition in China. In Chengdu, the tea drinking utensils are made of bronze or ceramics; and consist of mainly teapots, cups, tea bowls and trays, etc. Some first-class teahouses are equipped with high quality utensils. In the Tang Dynasty ( tn cho), metal wares were used to serve the noble families; porcelain earthenwares for ordinary citizens. In the Song Dynasty ( sn cho), tea bowls glazed of black, dark brown, grey, or white colors became common. Later during the middle of the Ming Dynasty (mn cho), tea pots made of porcelain and purple clay were in fashion. Porcelain wares made in jn d zhn (), Jiangxi

Special Circumstances for Tea Drinking

In China, the younger generation commonly show respect to the older generation by offering a cup of tea to the elders at a family dinner gathering. In the past, people of lower ranks served tea to those of higher ranks. In Chinese culture, people make serious apologies to others by pouring them tea as a sign of regret or submission. In the traditional Chinese marriage ceremony, the bride and the groom kneel before their parents and serve them tea to express their gratitude, calling their parents-in-law father and mother. The parents usually drink a small portion of tea, and then give a red envelope of

Tea Drinking & Sichuan Province

Its commonly believed that the habit of tea drinking originated in Sichuan Province around 3,000 years ago. There is evidence that people there began to drink tea in the early Spring and Autumn Period ( chn qi sh q). In the Qing Dynasty ( qn cho), tea drinking spread to other areas through China; and according to The History of Sichuan ( s chun zh), local people bagan to plant tea during the Western Han Dynasty ( x hn sh q).

 There is a saying, China has the best teahouses in the world, and Chengdu has the best teahouses in China. When youre in Chengdu, you will see teahouses everywhere, sprawling over the sidewalks, in black alleys and in the suburbs. They offer hot boiled water and tea snacks, and provide a comfortable setting with bamboo armchairs and low tables. Some teahouses present performances, or local opera. Jasmine tea is especially popular, but people who go to teahouses are not really thirsty. They usually go there just to sip tea and chat.
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Tea Drinking & Chengdu

Tea Drinking & Chengdu

Recently, some changes have taken place to downtown Chengdu teahouses. There have sprung a sort of pub-type teahouses with a pleasant interior decor. These are usually busy in the afternoon and evening, and mainly cater to young people, who come to chat or talk business. On weekends, friends and families from all the walks of life go to teahouses in the beautiful countryside, where they enjoy drinking tea, chatting, playing cards or dozing off in their armchairs. Many weekends can be spent here over a
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