This is a guest post by Wang Xinlei:

Tea has been consumed in China for roughly 5,000 years and is by now thoroughly embedded in almost every aspect of Chinese culture. It is a vital part of Chinese medicine and a crucial part of social life. It is also thought to be the perfect accompaniment to quiet contemplation, the preferred drink of intellectuals, poets and Daoist monks. All aspects of tea culture from picking, boiling, pouring and sipping are subject to meticulous ceremony, giving rise to great connoisseurs. It has also played a fundamental role in modern history and politics, since nothing was more important in forcing China to open its doors to the world than the British addiction to Chinese tea.

Tea comes in a great variety of different types, with each general category — green, black, oolong, herbal, flower or bubble — manifesting a wide range of flavors, qualities and prices. Making the perfect cup necessitates following the precise instructions appropriate for each particular type, including details of brewing time, water temperature, quality of water, types of tea pot and other factors.

Green Tea (lucha) is the most common type of tea in China. It is made from unfermented dry leaves of the Camellia sinesis plant. Green tea contains the highest concentration of antioxidants, slowing the aging process and possibly even helping to retard the progression of such serious diseases as cancer and heart disease. Because it raises the metabolism it helps to burn fat and aids dieting. The most excellent green tea is probably Xihu Longjin (known as Dragon Well in English). This variety is grown in Hangzhou and is best harvested before the Qing Ming festival (on the 5th day of the 4th lunar month).

Black Tea, called ‘red tea’ (hongcha) in China, is also made from leaves of Camellia sinensis. It is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than other teas. Worldwide, it is produced and consumed in the largest quantity today. Black tea comes in two major varieties Xiaozhong and Gongfu. Xiaozhong is fumigated on a pine wood fire, which gives it a special fragrance, while Gongfu is known for its delicacy. The main areas of black tea cultivation are found in Anhui, Yunnan, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan provinces. Medicinally, black tea is thought to warm the stomach and diminish stress.

Oolong tea, also called qingcha or semi-fermented tea, has a flavor intermediate between green and black tea. For this reason, Chinese people describe it as ‘green leaves with red edges’. Its polyphenols give it medicinal properties comparable to those of green tea. It is also thought to ‘moisten’ the intestines and replenish vitamins. The Oolong variety known as Wuyishan ‘Big Red Robe’ (Dahongpao) is the world’s most expensive tea. It grows on the sides of Wuyi Mountain in Fujian Province and fetches over USD 1,000 per gram.

Herbal Tea comes in roughly 100 different major varieties, based on species such as ginseng, aloe vera, bamboo (leaf), barley (leaf), Chinese yam, cranesbill, hawthorn and many others. The medicinal properties vary according to these different ingredients, with Ginseng and Hawthorn (for instance) used to detoxify the blood, stimulate the nervous system, aid digestion and improve the metabolism.

Flower Tea is caffeine free, fragrant and beautiful. Typical flower teas include jasmine, honeysuckle, sweet-scented osmanthus, rose, chrysanthemum and white orchid.

Bubble Tea is a modern beverage consisting of tea, milk, sugar and some small chewy tapioca balls (‘bubbles’). This drink originated in Taiwan in the 1980s and spread from there to the mainland. The tapioca balls, also known as ‘pearls’, are consumed along with the beverage.

Thanks for contributing this article, Xinlei!  We’ll look forward to more of your work at Tai Shan in the future!