Just My Cup of Tea

Posted: May 6th, 2010 | Author: LumDimSum | Filed under: A Day In My Life | Tags: MaLianDao Tea Market | 1 Comment »

To truly understand Chinese culture, one must recognize the significance of Chinese tea. From its relevance and role through China’s long history, as a staple of their daily diet, and its medicinal qualities, tea is officially China’s national drink. It’s hard to exaggerate the importance of tea in Chinese culture, considering it was designated at many points throughout history as China’s state currency.

“Drinking a daily cup of tea will surely starve the apothecary.”

~Chinese Proverb

A fun fact about tea is that all tea is derived from the same source – the Camilla Sinensis plant. While they may all come from the same plant, there are hundreds of varieties of Chinese teas, which fall into a few main categories.  The tricky part is that there actually is no general consensus for categorizing tea, as they can be classified from the range of colors to the way the tea is processed, its quality, preparation methods, etc.

I am no expert by any means, but here is the basic background on a few of the main Chinese tea categories:

Unfermented Teas: These types of tea leaves are simply picked and left to dry or “wither” before pan frying, steaming or drying over charcoal fires. From the time the tea is harvested to its availability in stores is often only a matter of days so the taste maintains natural flavors and bitter tangs. The shelf-life is also much more limited (about 18 months) than fermented teas, but the medicinal qualities are much higher.

Green Tea: The most popular in China, green tea is produced from young leaves and is dried so quickly soon after picking the tea has a golden color and freshness to its taste.  Green tea is low in caffeine and high in antioxidants.

White Tea: The rarest and least processed tea, white tea gets its name from its silver-colored dried buds with white, fuzzy fibers and is made from immature tea leaves that are picked shortly before the buds have fully opened.  It is the specialty of the Fujian province and of all the varieties of teas, white tea has the least amount of caffeine and the highest amount of antioxidants, the healthiest for you with strong anti-viral and anti-bacterial qualities.

Yellow Tea:  Yellow tea is similar to green tea but has a slower drying phase, where the damp tea leaves are allowed to sit and yellow during a more extended ‘withering’. Thus it has been part fermented or oxidized usually to about 10%. Its appearance when brewed is more yellowy than green tea and is often cured with other herbs to enhance the flavor.

Fermented Teas: When teas are processed, this involves fermentation, which occurs when enzymes in the tea plant are either bruised, broken or crushed so that the enzymes are exposed to air.

Black Tea or known as 红茶 ‘Red Tea’ in China: This is the most popular tea worldwide, but as it is fully fermented tea, it does not have as many antioxidants as the other types of teas and it contains the most caffeine. On the plus side, unlike green tea, black tea does not lose its fragrance easily so it is suitable for long-distance travel, it gets better with age (like wine) and black tea is believed to warm the stomach, making it most popular in autumn and winter.

Pu’er Tea: A popular branch of black tea, pu’ers from Yunnan are the most famous examples of fermented tea. Pu’ers also lose much of their stimulant forces during fermentation. The long fermentation period of pu’ers result in many different vintages and tastes from the same leaf.

Blue Tea aka Oolong Tea: Often considered the most difficult tea to process, Oolong leaves are only partially oxidized, a variety between unfermented light teas and fermented black teas. The leaves cannot be broken or crushed, as full oxidation would occur, so they must only be bruised. Bruising tea for oolong usually occurs by throwing the leaves in baskets so only the edges of the leaves are opened to air. Oolongs can be more like black teas or more like green teas in their fermentation. China’s most famous oolong, TieGuanYin, is produced mainly in Fujian Province and is gently roasted, giving it a hint of strength.

Scented Tea: From Jasmine to rose, orchid, plum, gardenia, and Chrysanthemum, these floral teas are often mixed with Green Tea or Oolong Tea to enhance the flavor.  While these types of teas are very popular among foreigners in China, I learned that Chinese consider these floral teas quite cheap, and thus, are not very popular.

After this basic introduction, I encourage you to try a wider variety of teas rather than sticking to the standard Green Tea, Jasmine blend (Mulihua) Tea or Chrysanthemum (Juhua) Tea.  To help you plan your next trip to get your hands on some variety, here is the most legitimate shopping area to satisfy your tea needs.

Beijing’s tea destination is Maliandao Tea Street, a famous street on the west side of the city with over 1,000 tea shops and building filled with tea vendors and this is by far the best place to purchase a wide range of tea leaves, tea sets, and anything and everything related to the art of drinking tea.

Whether you come to buy in bulk or just to wander and sample, this is a great place to bring Beijing newcomers and visitors, this tea market area is also a great opportunity to sample any kind of tea you’d like to try, ask questions, and sip on some soothing, delightful cups of tea.  Prices range from dirt cheap to crazy expensive, and make sure you bargain hard and poke your nose around before buying from the first tea vendor you meet.

A lovely tea vendor who came highly recommended is named Guan Yen Fang and her stall is on the second floor – 茶城2层2组6号。You can tell her your basic price range and the types of tea you are interested in sampling and they will show you the goods.

Address:

Maliandao Tea Street 马连道茶叶街
11 Maliandao Road, Xuanwu   马连道路11号

“Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company.”  ~Author Unknown

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.”  ~Thich Nat Hahn

“Tea’s proper use is to amuse the idle, and relax the studious, and dilute the full meals of those who cannot use exercise, and will not use abstinence.”  ~Samuel Johnson

“There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea.  ~Bernard-Paul Heroux

“If you are cold, tea will warm you.  If you are too heated, it will cool you.  If you are depressed, it will cheer you.  If you are excited, it will calm you.”  ~Gladstone, 1865

LumDimSum Photo Gallery of Maliandao Tea Market:

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