How to Prepare and Serve Traditional Chinese Tea

These instructions will guide you through the procedure of making and serving rose black tea. Being able to make and serve traditional Chinese tea is essential to hosting a formal dinner or gathering. Preparing tea in the traditional way provides a full experience for everyone; for those intent upon understanding the intricacies of new teas or for those just looking for a relaxing, yet stimulating beverage.

One of the benefits of tea is that most Americans might not think about is that it can act as a substitute for coffee as it has similar caffeine effects. People tend to drink coffee as part of their morning routine, but substituting coffee for tea can be a healthier alternative. Preparing and serving Chinese tea is a delicate art that can become a part of anyone’s daily life.

Materials Needed

A traditional Chinese Tea Set is suggested in order to provide an experience of sophistication and class. Many of these can easily be found online. A prepared traditional Chinese tea set includes:

Water Boiler
A Teapot - Dark-Red Enameled Pottery is the best choice
Rose Black Tea
A Teaspoon - the shape is different from a normal American teaspoon
A Tea Holder - where tea can be placed
A Tea Board (suggestion size: 23x23x35cm)
A Serving Cup - used to serve people when the tea has cooled down
Teacups - the number of teacups can vary depending on the size of the tea board
A Tea Towel - can be substituted by a normal towel
Honey (optional)

Use water boiler to bring water to a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius. Do not pour water into teapot, yet.

Warning: Boiling water is hot and it is easy to get burned. Please make sure to use properly insulated equipment for handling hot substances.

Depending on the size of teapot, the proportion of black rose tea to water should be about 1 to 50. Use the teaspoon to put rose black tea into teapot carefully.

Place the teapot on the tea board.

Pour water into teapot until water begins to leak out the spout. Immediately after, slowly close the lid. Carefully continue swirling the water around in the teapot for 30 seconds.

Warning: Steam from hot water can burn. Use caution when pouring.

Rinse the serving cup and teacups with the tea in order to purify them while on the tea board.

Pour tea out of teacups and the serving cup.

Repeat step 4 while skipping steps 5 and 6.

Wait for another 45 seconds. Using your thumb and middle finger hold the teapot’s handle while using your forefinger to hold the lid. Pour all of the tea into the serving cup at a 45 degree angle to the tea board.

Warning: Steam from hot water can burn. Use caution when pouring.

Place teacups in front of each person.

Use the tea towel to dry the teapot.

Hold the serving cup and start to serve tea from right to left. Pour tea into each teacup until each one is about 3/4 full.

Depending on personal preference, use teaspoon to add honey into each cup of tea to sweeten the tea.

Once everyone has finished drinking their cup of tea, pour new boiled water into the teapot and repeat step 6 to step 10 in order to make more tea.

Background Information

Chinese tea culture starts in the Shen Nong Era. The Chinese have been drinking tea for more than 4700 years. The making of tea is an art form in traditional Chinese tea culture. The concept is similar to wine tasting in a cellar. Like wine, there are several levels of quality and taste in tea that is based in part on where it was grown and cultivated and how it was brewed. Tea tasting is not solely a judgment of taste but also of visual impression, presence, and aroma.

There are more than 2000 kinds of traditional Chinese tea. Rose black tea is well known for its health benefits, one being its ability to beautify facial skin. Rose black tea is known for being the most popular tea among woman with its rose is fragrance helping its popularity. Black tea is generally one of the types of teas with higher caffeine content. All types of tea (white, green, oolong, black, etc.) come from the leaves of the same plant species Camellia sinensis that is indigenous to China and India. What gives the teas their distinct tastes is the quality of the soil, the weather conditions of where they are grown, and the way the leaves are processed. The oxidation of tea is a key part or processing that essentially determines what type of tea the leaf will be. Oxidation occurs by drying, withering, rolling, and heating the leaves. More oxidized tealeaves will contain a higher caffeine content.

Though tea is indigenous to countries in Asia, it has become a worldwide beverage. Tea has become an ideal drink for health as the antioxidants in tea are correlated with weight loss, prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease. The increasing understanding of the health benefits of tea has put it in high demand. If you’re looking for a new hobby or for a new healthy option or just a relaxing drink, preparing traditional tea is an excellent option. Furthermore, you can serve it to your friends and family showing off your level of sophistication.

Picture references:

http://www.syqlt.com/Archiver/photo.asp?id=14

www.tbw-chaju.com/teahutcjchhtuu/

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