Chinese Tea

Photo: flickr user extranoise

Ingredients

Tea brewed in a clay teapot (left) and in porcelain (right). To get the best results you have t

the teapot to serve it in.

Preparation

TEA drinking has never ceased to be popular. What started some 5,000 years ago and came to be a mainstay of Chinese culture remains as appealing today. Such is tea's popularity that it's the second most consumed drink after water.

The rituals of tea drinking are refined processes meant to relax and rejuvenate the mind. To help you in your selection, here's a brief background of some teas.

The different qualities and characteristics of each tea is determined by the soil and climatic conditions that govern its growth. During tea harvesting, only the top two new leaves of the tea plants are plucked by hand, and these are then rolled, curled or twisted before further treatment to determine the type of tea they will become.

The most commonly consumed form of tea is black tea for which the leaves are exposed to air and left to oxidise until their colour darkens to a dusky brown-black before they are dried. The oxidisation process is what gives black teas their distinctly free-bodied flavour and intensity. Black teas vary widely in character and complexity of fragrance.

Chinese black teas run an equally wide gamut.

Good oolong tea has a floral lilt and a lily-like headiness. Ti Kuan Yin being the most famous, is named after the Goddess of Mercy. Its dark leaves produce an intensely aromatic brew that is reputed to help digestion. Tung Ting is another celebrated Chinese oolong, characterised by its clean and gentle taste.

Left to right: Long Jing tea, green tea, Ti Kuan Yin and Jasmine tea. - Picture by C. Jason Green tea is not oxidised but instead dried as soon as it is picked. It preserves more of the grassy and herbal character of the leaf. Generally, it has a fresher character than black tea. The most famous Chinese green tea is the mellow, soothing Long Jing or "Dragon Well" tea.

The ritual of drinking Chinese tea has been taken up by many Malaysians not just for a welcome distraction from everyday pressures but because it's a pleasurable pursuit as well. So, indulge in a cuppa today and learn the simple steps of brewing and serving Chinese tea in the home.

To get the best results, though, first know your tea and teapot. Jasmine tea, for one, needs heat to be dissipated fast in order for its fragrance to be extracted. It is better to use a porcelain teapot rather than a clay teapot for Jasmine tea.

A more mature or fermented tea such as oolong is best brewed in clay pots which take a longer time to heat up than porcelain ones and are also able to sustain heat.

Many people consider the act of brewing tea to be an art in itself. Let us then move on to the steps that constitute this art:Infused tea in a porcelain tea cup.

For a refreshing cuppa cha