Tea house

Author: Zhou Wentang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-04-01
Features: High-end tea houses and tea rooms can be roughly divided into two categories: one is luxurious and opulent in decoration, while the other is elegant and culturally rich, creating a refreshing atmosphere that feels away from the hustle and bustle. The similarities between the two are high investment in operation, relatively high tea prices, primarily targeting high-income individuals, scholars, and foreign tourists, as well as occasionally hosting important dignitaries. They provide standardized, high-quality services, with refined and fresh tea snacks and a wide variety of options. Tea houses can have different styles; some are classical architectural structures with antique furnishings, while others are modern with minimalist designs. The environment is elegant, spacious, and comfortable, with beautifully arranged tea seating areas. High-end tea houses generally have larger floor spaces and meticulously selected decorative materials and layouts. Air conditioning is installed to maintain a pleasant temperature in both winter and summer. Tea attendants wear specially designed tea house attire and skillfully brew tea with gentle, elegant, and warm background music. Service staff are usually trained in tea art and possess a certain cultural background. Some tea houses or tea rooms, despite their elegant environments, may not perform well due to their secluded locations or lack of foot traffic, resulting in suboptimal business performance.
Medium-tier tea houses Medium-tier tea houses cater to the general public and working-class individuals, emphasizing affordable and abundant tea snacks. Their decorations create a tea art atmosphere, often featuring natural elements like large trees or traditional vibes. However, due to limited resources, decorative materials are often simple, and aspects like air conditioning, seating, air quality, environment, space, and scenery may not be perfect. While some tea houses offer tea art performances, the overall ambiance lacks elegance and charm. The tea utensils used are mostly mid-range, the quality of tea leaves is average, and the service staff's qualifications and service quality are also ordinary. However, the prices are affordable for the working class, so these tea houses attract many customers, especially on holidays, who gather with colleagues, friends, or family for tea and relaxation.
Low-tier tea houses Low-tier tea houses refer to simple outdoor tea houses, seasonal tea houses, tea stalls, tea sheds, senior citizen tea rooms, and old-style village tea houses. Their characteristics include basic equipment, often utilizing natural environments or outdoor spaces with minimal indoor decoration. Rent is low, and prices range from a few cents to a few dollars. Sometimes, customers can bring their own tea and cups, while the tea house only provides boiling water. These are traditional places for pedestrians, tourists to quench their thirst and rest, and for people to chat leisurely. Residents, farmers, or laid-off workers may set up simple tea houses, sheds, or stalls in idle storefronts, alleys, green lawns, or quiet corners of bustling streets. Compared to other tea houses, they are not as refined but are deeply loved by ordinary people, especially retired workers and elderly individuals who cherish them as joyful gathering places for emotional connection.
Tea houses can be categorized based on architecture, decoration, environmental layout, item arrangement, and tea-drinking methods, reflecting cultural, folk, and artistic styles. Broadly, there are several types:
1. Historical Stage Classification: Such as classical, modern, and futuristic. Classical tea houses include those from the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties.
2. Geographical Classification: Such as Sichuan tea houses, Minnan tea art houses, Guangdong Chaozhou tea art houses, Jiangzhe Qing tea houses, Japanese-style tea houses, Korean tea rooms, and European tea houses.
3. Ethnic Classification: Such as Tibetan tea houses and Dai ethnic tea houses.
4. Environmental Classification: Such as garden-style tea houses, South Asian-themed tea houses, tropical rainforest-style tea houses, and rural-style tea houses.
5. Social Class Classification: Such as business tea bars, senior citizen tea rooms, bird tea houses, and tea internet cafes.
6. Functional Classification: Such as Qing tea houses, book tea houses, and opera tea houses.
Below are brief introductions to some categories.
Traditional-style tea houses Traditional-style tea houses include courtyard-style, traditional-style, and classical-style tea houses. These three categories all create a traditional ambiance, with differences in architectural form, interior furnishings, and external environments.
- Courtyard-style tea houses feature traditional brick-and-wood or stone structures with courtyards, skylights, outdoor spaces, and garden layouts, characterized by their courtyard-style appearance.
- Traditional-style tea houses are more inclusive, encompassing courtyard-style, classical-style, residential-style, temple-style, and garden-architecture-style tea houses.
- Classical-style tea houses, for example, have exteriors with traditional Chinese pavilions, terraces, towers, bridges, corridors, studios, or roofs with upturned eaves and blue tiles. The interiors are decorated with classical elements, such as couplets, calligraphy and paintings, carved screen doors, and antique-style furniture (Ming-style) made of fine materials like redwood, rosewood, or other hardwoods. The color scheme is usually grayish-brown, brown, or reddish-brown, with white-washed walls and clear black and white contrasts. The doors and windows are often modeled after Ming and Qing dynasty architecture, with wooden components and latticed windows, and brick-and-stone walls. The interiors may display couplets, screen doors, traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy, and tea utensils like antique wooden tea trays, Zisha teapots, and Gaiwan teacups. Wall hangings of paintings and calligraphy, along with a green-brick or wooden floor, complemented by floral arrangements and bonsai, create an atmosphere of ancient charm.
Rural-style tea houses Rural-style tea houses emphasize rustic charm with simple and modest decorations. Furniture is often made of wood, bamboo, or rattan, with minimal lacquer or light clear lacquer. These tea houses use easily sourced materials and require relatively low investment., tree bark decorations, straw hats, water wheels, stone mills, red chili peppers, mud walls, and garlic are arranged to create a countryside atmosphere. They transport urban dwellers to rural, wilderness, water towns, and fields, offering a refreshing experience.
Outdoor and seasonal tea houses Outdoor tea houses are typically set up in parks, riversides, courtyards, streets, coastal beaches, shaded lawns, mountains, and watersides. Some tea houses move from small indoor spaces to outdoor areas for natural scenery, while others expand their business by setting up outdoor stalls. Seasonal tea houses are designed for specific occasions like tea appreciation during the Mid-Autumn Festival, moon viewing, plum blossom viewing in winter, or cooling off in summer. Their facilities are relatively basic, with some,,、. The main equipment includes sunshades, rain shelters, and simple tables, chairs, benches, and white porcelain teacups. Some are even simpler, with stone tables and benches or bamboo chairs and benches placed in forests, by water, on grassy lawns, or in alleys. The simple facilities and unadorned spaces blend harmoniously with green mountains, clear waters, grasslands, and blue skies, embodying the rustic and natural essence of the countryside. Outdoor tea houses do not necessarily need an open sky; as long as there are trees, vines, tents, or sunshades overhead, they are considered outdoor tea houses. Here, we refer to all outdoor tea drinkers, who are both male and female, gathering to play chess, cards, or mahjong. Some bring fruits, nuts, peanuts, or preserved fruits, while adult men often carry newspapers they enjoy. Elderly regulars at outdoor tea houses might sit with a pack of "" or "" cigarettes, a few mooncakes, and chat for hours. Many rural tea houses in Meijiawu and Manjuelong along the roadside, shaded by osmanthus trees, are a unique cultural landmark of Hangzhou. When the osmanthus fragrance fills the air, people come and go, smoke curls gently, and laughter mixes with occasional guitar melodies, filling the osmanthus groves. In the afternoon, delicious local dishes or seasonal delicacies are served, along with the mountain air, tea aroma, and golden, richly flavored lake crabs, attracting city dwellers for leisure year after year. The beautiful West Lake has nurtured the Hangzhou people, who enjoy a life of luxury.