THE ART OF MAKING TEA

 

Appearing much later than alcoholic beverages, tea began to acquire considerable importance in the Tang period, when its use became widespread. At first it was perceived as a serious competitor of wine, which it implicitly is to this day. Certain “weak natures” who could not tolerate alcohol very well actually replaced wine with tea when they attended official drinking parties. A Discourse on Tea and Wine (Wang Zhongmin 1984) from the late Tang period pits Tea against Wine in a debate that allows each of them to argue and preach in favor of his own brotherhood.Wine calls himself more precious than his opponent and better able to combat death, whereas Tea accuses Wine of causing the ruin of families and prides himself on being a virtuous drink of beautiful color that clears away confusion. But in the end Wine and Tea make peace when Water reminds them that without her neither of them amounts to much and that they should get along, since tea often helps to dissipate the vapors of drunkenness.And it is true that infusions of tea were first used for medicinal purposes (Sealy 1958; Chen Chuan 1984). Tea, however, very quickly became much more than a mere remedy.

Part of its enormous success can be attributed to its commercial value both within and without the borders of China, in nearby regions, and throughout the world. Of the three stimulating beverages – coffee (from Ethiopia and Yemen), tea (from China), and cocoa (from the New World) – that the Europeans “discovered” in the late Renaissance, tea was the most widely disseminated and is still the most commonly consumed today. China gave us this custom of drinking tea, which also took root in Japan, Korea, and northern India. It should be noted that all of the tea consumed in western Europe was initially imported from China until the British broke this monopoly by launching their highly successful tea plantations in Ceylon and India toward the end of the nineteenth century.

Sichuan was the cradle of the decoction of a bitter plant thought to be tea, which was probably first used toward the end of the Western Han period (206–23). The names employed at the time are still somewhat doubtful, but the plant was clearly Camellia sinensis. At that time tea was not infused but prepared in decoction, perhaps seasoned with salt, onions, ginger, or citrus peels, and its leaves were sometimes simmered in cooked dishes. Clearly this was a far cry from what we call “tea” today.Two factors are thought to have facilitated the spread of tea throughout China to its northernmost frontiers, beginning with the Sui (581–618) and the Tang (618–907). One is that tea soon came to be an item of tribute and, thus, became known and appreciated in court circles. The other has to do with the vigorous growth of Buddhism between the beginning of the Christian era and the Tang period. It is reported that tea was a great help to Buddhist monks, whose religion prohibited the drinking of “intoxicating” beverages like wine and whose practice of meditation demanded fasting and staying awake for many hours at a time.Tea plantations therefore followed the founding of Buddhist temples in the mountains.

Most would agree, however, that it was Lu Yu, author of the famous Classic of Tea (Carpenter 1974; Lu Yu 1990), who in the middle of the eighth century provided the Chinese culture of tea with its veritable birth certificate.The Tang period, moreover, marks the beginning of the “tea policy” adopted by the Chinese government. More or less successful, depending on the period, this policy, which lasted until the Qing period, regulated the monopoly, the tribute, and the taxation of tea and monitored an official trade in which tea was exchanged for “barbarian” horses on the country’s northern and northeastern frontiers. Doubtless the vast scope of tea consumption and the potential profits of its cultivation played a decisive role in the elaboration of this policy. Lu Yu himself probably only codified and formally described the practices and the techniques peculiar to his time and to the literati. His work in three chapters was devoted to the origins, the cultivation, the processing, and the drinking of tea. It had enormous influence on the rise of the culture of tea, which developed not only in China but in Japan as well.

Lu Yu’s work gave rise to an endless number of treatises that either followed in the same vein or provided more elaborate information. It is important to note that in China – unlike Japan, where tea was associated with a Zen discipline – the art of tea was always in the realm of practical “know-how,” somewhat ritualized but only done so to encourage a more thorough enjoyment of life. Lu Yu explains the comparative merits of different beverages in perfectly straightforward terms: “To quench one’s thirst, one should drink water; to dissipate sadness and anger, one should drink wine; to drive away listlessness and sleepiness, one should drink tea” (Fu Shuqin and Ouyang Xun 1983: 37). But despite such straightforwardness, he insists that the processing, preparation, and drinking of tea must be done according to the rules, and he heaps scorn on those who, believing that they are drinking tea, settle for “stuff that has washed out of the rain spout” (Fu Shuqin and Ouyang Xun 1983: 37).

It goes without saying that although Lu Yu was sometimes worshiped as the “God of Tea,” planters, processors, and lovers of the divine brew have gone beyond the master’s instructions. As processing techniques evolved, they led to modifications in the preparation of tea and changes in the consumers’ tastes. As early as the Tang period, “steam wilting” was discovered, a technique that made it possible to free the brew of its “green taste.” Then, under the Song, planters began to wash the leaves before wilting them, and loose-leaf tea replaced the kind that had hitherto been pressed into “cakes” that had to be crumbled before being used in decoctions. In the early Ming period the growing taste for loose-leaf tea spelled the victory of infusions over decoctions. The leaves of C. sinensis were now mixed with fragrant flower petals whose scent is imparted to the infusion.Today the best known of these infusions is jasmine tea.

In the Tang period, several local teas had already acquired a great reputation, and by the Song period 41 kinds of tea were considered worthy of serving as tributes.Today there are three major types of Chinese teas: green tea, oolong tea, and black tea. Green tea, which is the kind most frequently consumed in China and Japan, is not made to undergo fermentation, whereas oolong tea, most popular in the southern provinces, is semifermented. Black teas, mainly produced for export, are called “fermented.”

Drinking and serving tea today are such commonplace activities that they do not elicit any commentary. Wherever they might be, people can expect to find a thermos of boiling hot water, covered mugs, and tea leaves ready to be steeped. In any waiting or reception area, the visitor is offered tea.Tea is never drunk with the meal.13 But when invited to share a meal, visitors are always received with a cup of tea. And this little offering is repeated to mark the end of the meal. On all such occasions this gesture must be made, whether or not the tea is actually drunk.

Every Chinese worker – blue or white collar – and every traveler carries a glass receptacle whose lid is tightly closed over some hot water in which a small handful of tea is steeping. In the course of the day more water is added and the liquid becomes paler and paler.This type of consumption, which in Taiwan is facilitated by automatic dispensers, is suited to the normal use of tea conceived as a mildly stimulating internal lubricant that will aid the digestion. The tea used throughout the day is usually of rather poor quality and in principle affordable for everyone. In lean times, the habit continues even without tea and people drink hot water, calling it “tea.”

Along with such routine tea drinking in all parts of the country, the southern provinces have developed a veritable culture of tea. Every town or village has its “tea house,” which can be quite modest, where people go to relax, to talk to their friends, and to share and comment on the latest news.These “tea parlors” have a long history in China. Indeed, those of the capitals of the northern and southern Song have become legendary thanks to the authors of the Descriptions of the Capital (Gernet 1962), who vaunted their lively and refined character.

In Canton and its region, however, and in Hong Kong, too, tea drinking is a more serious matter, as is everything that involves food. In Canton, the gastronomic capital of China, there are vast numbers of establishments that from morning until mid-afternoon offer tea lovers the opportunity to order a large pot of their favorite tea along with, if they choose, an incredible variety of “little dishes” – ravioli, fritters, dumplings, tartlets, pâtés, noodles, and so forth – all of them especially designed to accompany tea without overpowering its taste.

Written by Françoise Sabban (translated by Elborg Forster) in "The Cambridge World History vol.2" editors Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas, Cambridge University Press, UK 1999, pp.1172-1174. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.