Homestay tutors enjoying a Chinese tea ceremony in Shanghai
One of the most famous aspects of Chinese culture is tea drinking, as tea itself is thought to originate in China. Visitors to China can enjoy a traditional tea ceremony at one of the many ancient tea houses, experiencing a tradition spanning almost 3000 years.
Tea has since spread around the world, with a diverse variety of tea flavours and unique customs such as British milk tea, Indian spiced Chai and Moroccan mint tea.
Nowadays, Taiwanese-style bubble tea has become popular among young people in China, providing a cool, refreshing alternative for hot summer days!
Activity
We are going to learn the most popular traditional tea ceremony – 工夫茶 (gōng fū chá). While this is designed to be done using a traditional Chinese tea set (which can be bought relatively cheaply at many market stalls in China), you can also adapt using existing equipment you have at home such as a British style teapot and cups!
You will need:
- Tea pot
- Tea jug
- Tea strainer
- Small teacups
- Chinese tea
There are multiple stages to the tea ceremony. First, you should warm and wash the cups using hot water, before rinsing through with the first brew of tea. It is actually only the second cup of tea which is drunk, ensuring the flavour has fully developed. You can find out more by watching the great video below from GoldThread:
Share
Congratulations on making some delicious tea! Please do share your creations with us – tag @abridgeacademy on instagram for a feature!