Tea and wine chat

Author: Huang Miaozi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: "Miao Laohan's Chat" is a selected collection of short essays and dating back to the author's 1970s. The book centers around tea, wine, and food, but also touches on other subjects, with the author writing wherever inspiration strikes. It serves as a leisurely read for tea-time and wine-time entertainment. The author's essays on tea and wine anecdotes, culinary curiosities, historical tales of utensils, fragrant flowers and bamboos, and odd tales of animals seem to be written effortlessly. From the tea customs of the Song Dynasty to the clocks of the Qing Dynasty, from tofu and vegetables to roses and wisteria, the author discusses historical legends, occasionally adding a witty remark or a playful jab, making it lively and engaging. Listening to the author chat about food, utensils, plants, and animals is both a rest and a source of knowledge. In Fujian, Taiwan, and Chaozhou, people love drinking Gongfu tea, with special tea sets featuring small pots and cups, and a meticulous brewing method that is both time-consuming and elegant. However, this is a pastime for those with leisure, as modern people usually drink tea simply by steeping tea leaves in boiling water. This is because modern life is busy, and by summarizing the millennium-old experience of drinking tea, they have found a method that preserves the aroma and stimulating effects of tea while retaining its beverage characteristics, without requiring much time. Lu Yu of the Tang Dynasty, known as the "God of Tea," advocated this method of brewing tea in his famous work, The Classic of Tea. However, in the Tang Dynasty, there was also a method of boiling tea with salt, scallions, ginger, and medicinal herbs, especially in Chang'an, where the "West Market" (similar to today's Xidan to Xisi area in Beijing) was a hub for ethnic minorities and merchants from Persia and the Middle East. This boiled tea was sold as a health tonic, which could be considered the ancestor of Guangdong's "cool tea." By the Song Dynasty, this medicinal tea gradually became less common. In Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, the Miao people popularize a homemade beverage made from tea leaves, popped rice, roasted and ground peanuts, sesame seeds, and soybeans, with scallions and ginger as seasonings. First, the tea leaves are toasted, then boiled with water, and the leaf residue is removed. Next, a handful of the prepared ingredients are placed in a tea bowl and topped with tea broth, resulting in a rich and fragrant flavor. This is a traditional method of medicinal tea entering minority regions, and this tea is locally called "oil tea." In the past, I had only heard of "oil poems," but never of "oil tea." The Herbal Classic of Justice states that Solomon's seal () is used to "treat dryness of the lungs and stomach, depletion of body fluids, thirst, and dry mouth." In the cities and villages of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, people often boil Solomon's seal, peony root, orchid root, Chinese asparagus, and large hawthorns with rock sugar to make a refreshing summer drink. This sweet and sour beverage is not only delicious but also a healthy way to stay cool. I haven't seen this in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Solomon's seal.