Taste the clear aroma of tea

Author: Wang Jing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-10-01
Features: A desk book, bedside pages, a readily accessible tea encyclopedia. A complete manual for tea appreciation, a practical guide for tea selection, teaching you to easily become a tea connoisseur. For tea, one hundred Chinese people have one hundred different perspectives. And every type of tea has its own charm—green tea embodies the sophistication of scholars, black tea represents the tranquility of women, scented tea showcases the ingenuity of ordinary folk, and oolong tea exudes the wisdom of the elderly. Though these are just details, life is composed of many such details, and missing them would be a pity. So, let’s gather together again, rediscover the ancient art of tea, and appreciate its true essence. "Poetry paints plum blossoms under the moon, tea brews in the spring of Guyu," just like Lu You’s poetry, the true essence of tea is indescribable. China, the homeland of tea, has a history of tea cultivation and consumption spanning thousands of years. Renowned varieties abound, with the main categories including green tea, black tea, oolong tea, scented tea, white tea, and dark tea. Tea not only offers health benefits and medicinal properties but also provides a means of appreciation, fostering refined tastes and moral cultivation. Tea drinking and entertaining guests are elegant social activities for the Chinese, while tea houses and tea gatherings are communal tea art events. Chinese tea culture enjoys worldwide acclaim, having been introduced to Japan during the Tang Dynasty and becoming the origin of Japanese tea ceremony. The Chinese have a deep love for tea, as evidenced by ancient poetry and paintings dedicated to it, as well as comparisons of people of different ages with various teas: a ten-year-old is likened to "Haimagong" tea, revealing their nascent character with a faint, mellow, and sweet flavor, reminiscent of tea yet also like the gentle flow of a stream. A twenty-year-old is like "Jasmine tea," discovering emotions with pure and refreshing taste, vibrant in both flavor and appearance, each possessing unique beauty and charm. A thirty-year-old is like "Biluochun tea," having experienced life and refined it, removing impurities while preserving fragrance, developing a distinct style. A forty-year-old is like "West Lake Longjing tea," embodying perfection in simplicity and nobility in maturity, a nobility that is approachable, swirling and returning to simplicity. A fifty-year-old is like "Dongding tea," having weathered the trials of time and now beginning to temper it, with genuine emotions naturally flowing after countless experiences. A sixty-year-old is like "Sandalwood White Tea," harmonized by nature and infused with the essence of the sun and moon, rich in flavor. A seventy-year-old is like "Silver Needle White Hair," no longer needing to see...