Tea and Zen are of one taste.
Sen Sotan
Tea is the beberage prepared from the leaves of a specific plant: the Camellia sinensis, also called “tea plant”. All varieties of tea (black tea, green tea, red tea, wūlóng 烏龍 tea, etc.) come from this plant, and differ only in their way of production.
An infusion is a way to prepare a drink from leaves, stems, roots or other parts of a plant, leaving them in hot water for a certain time. In this way the flavour and the properties of the plant are extracted in the hot water. Thus, to prepare tea it is necessary to make an infusion of its leaves, but not all the infusions are made of tea.
From the moment the tea leaves are collected from the plant, an oxidation process begins naturally in the leaves by contact with the air. This process alters the components and properties of the tea, and can be stopped by application of heat. In this way the different types of tea are the result of a longer or shorter oxidation time. In addition, weather conditions (sun, rain, etc.), soil quality, altitude, age of the plant, etc. play an important role in the flavour of the tea. Bearing this in mind, it is not so surprising, then, that there are countless different varieties.
The Chinese have been consuming and producing tea for more than two thousand years, and have developed a whole culture of their own around this drink, to the point that tea preparation is an art in itself, known as gōng fū chá 功夫茶. As we already know, gōng fū means “mastery”, “skill”; and chá 茶 means “tea.” This expression indicates that a certain degree of gōng fū, of skill, is necessary in the preparation of tea. Gōng fū chá is, then, an art in itself, with an important meditative component, and takes place in an almost sacred space and time: here and now.
This section is therefore dedicated to everything related to the world of tea, from its production to its preparation, as well as all the cultural elements built around it.
In the last dynasties there were radical changes in the consumption and production of tea, shaping the current customs related to this drink. The Qīng 清 dynasty saw the end of the Chinese monopoly of tea and the acquisition of production methods by Western powers.
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During the Sòng 宋, tea preparation reached its highest degree of sophistication, requiring an arduous and laborious process that was only possible among the upper classes, who often had several servants dedicated to this task. To this was added the fever for dòuchá 鬥茶, “tea duels”, in which people competed to demonstrate the skill in the preparation of this drink.
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The Táng 唐 dynasty (618-907) was the time of greatest diffusion of tea consumption within China, and in it there were great changes that defined not only the way of consuming tea, but also the way of thinking about it during the rest of the history of China.
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Despite the existing legends about its origin, it seems that the first uses of tea were not as a drink but as an edible for medicinal purposes, in the form of pickles, fries or condiments. Certain ethnic groups in the Yúnnán 雲南 region still consume tea in this form today.
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The city of Cháozhōu 潮州, in Cháoshàn 潮汕, is one of the cradles of Chinese tea culture, where some believe the gōngfū chá (工夫茶 or 功夫茶) ceremony originated several hundred years ago, and from where it would have spread to the rest of China. But the Cháozhōu ceremony has some peculiarities that reflect the values and hospitality of its inhabitants.
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The Tea Classic or Chá Jīng 茶經 is a work of literature of the eighth century that deals with various aspects related to tea, from the cultivation of the plant to the preparation of the drink. This work, written by Lù Yǔ 陸羽, known as “Tea Sage”, had a tremendous impact in his time on the spread of the custom of drinking tea in China.
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Lù Yǔ 陸羽 was a scholar of the eighth century, known for being the author of the Chá Jīng 茶經 or Classic of Tea. In this first article dedicated to him we will see how the life of this eccentric character was, a life dedicated to investigating and experimenting with tea in all its aspects.
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The Chá Jiǔ Lùn 茶酒論 (Discourse of Tea and Wine) is a satirical text of the Táng 唐 dynasty, representing a dialogue between the personified substances of tea and wine or liqueur. This text gives us information about the customs of the time, and is also a metaphor that represents a discussion between philosophical currents.
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Habits in tea consumption have changed a lot throughout history. Currently, tea is consumed as an infusion, but this method began to be used only in the Míng 明 dynasty. Until then, the preparation of tea went through several very interesting stages, which gave rise to the expression “eating tea”.
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Pǔ’ěr 普洱 is the name of a prefecture city in the Chinese province of Yúnnán 雲南. Therefore, formerly Pǔ’ěr was the name for which the tea from this region was known. What we call red tea is actually a type of Pǔ’ěr. But there is also another type, which is the most appreciated in China.
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