My husband enjoys drinking tea, especially Iron Buddah (tie guan yin). So on his birthday, some friends took us to a tea house for a tea performance.
Tea is not just a beverage in China but also an art form. There is a certain way to steep, serve, and drink tea that is a part of what is called tea culture. Here is a young lady giving a tea performance in which she gives a description of how to make tea and adds a few interesting tidbits from history.
Making tea requires certain tools which she’s showing off here. She does it with feminine flourishes of the wrist in a very rehearsed way. I find myself wanting to snicker at the exaggerated gestures . But for my Chinese friends, this tea ceremony is similar to someone singing or dancing for entertainment. To laugh would be rude. (Taking photos, on the other hand, was very flattering.)
As small as the teacups are, you are not supposed to gulp it all down. Proper tea drinking requires each cup to be drunk in three (or more) sips. (These tea cups probably hold about 2 tablespoons of liquid.) There’s even a proper way for a lady to hold a cup. The men have their own polite way to hold the cup. It’s all rather silly for Miss Practical here. I just want a large mug of the great tasting tea. But tea culture is not just about the beverage. It’s the experience, the socializing, the slow process of making and drinking cup after cup, drunk in tiny sips to savor each drop. Oh, and whenever we drink tea my friends like to remind me of the terrible dangers of coffee and how healthy tea is. (I’ll take my chances with coffee and just drink both. I’m hoping the tea will offset some of the “risks.”)
All over China, you can find tea shops where ladies will make you tea and serve it politely while you and your guests enjoy a quiet conversation. Tea culture is another one of those places where the ancient and the modern intersect in China.
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Hi, I'm Jimmie, and this is my online collage -- a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but mostly homeschooling with a loosely Charlotte Mason style. You're welcome to poke around and leave a comment if you desire. 
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I love tea and have turned all of the children into tea drinkers. Get them hooked on your own habit early I say. LOL! I always learn so much from your blog.
Blessings,
Dawn
Ohhhhhhhhhh, how I love tea!
Here is how we do it in the states these days:
http://queenoffun101.blogspot.com/2009_06_13_archive.html
Beautiful! I can see the lack of practicality, but I can also see the appeal to a tradition that requires slowing down, appreciating the moment and the loveliness of simple ritual.
We love tea, acquired taste for it over coffee when we moved to Sri Lanka. I still enjoy coffee though, yet still doubting what health benefits can I get from it
. Tea is better, esp green tea… it is nice to read it as an art form.
I know that green tea is healthy. Very healthy. But honestly, I just don’t like it. *sigh* Black tea with lots of white sugar. Chilled. Now that is the southern way to do it!
It’s always interesting to see how different parts of the world (or even country or state) has their own culture and way of preparing food and drink.
Just finished reading house at pooh corner, followed by a tea party. Small cups, a tea pot, honey, cream, and politeness… the kids are hooked
i think the chinese have a good thing.
Wow – that looks so elegant!