Chinese Tea 101

Photo Source: Renato Ganoza | Flickr

Here in Manila, we are accustomed to drinking tea served in Chinese restaurants that comes in medium-sized porcelain teapots. Usually the tea leaves are left to steep inside these service pots for an indefinite period of time.

I had to admit that I most often only drank complimentary Chinese tea and rarely ordered better quality varieties in restaurants. Thus, I had been disinterested to this drink for as long as I can remember. Until this one day, I did drink a good quality tea. A gift from a friend who went to China. The wonderful scent of tea had sparked my interest to this second most widely consumed beverage in the world.

All teas are made from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis. The different kinds arise from the different harvesting time and methods of processing of the leaves. Other drinks such as peppermint and chamomile teas aren't real teas and are more appropriately termed as herbal teas.

Here are the types of tea starting from the shortest harvesting and processing time:

1. White Tea

2. Green Tea

3. Oolong Tea

3. Black or Red Tea

4. Pu-erh Tea

Different varieties require different steeping time and water temperature. Many tea enthusiasts even have separate teapots for each kind as they greatly differ in aroma and flavor.

Most often, the complimentary teas being provided by Chinese restaurants in Manila come from oolong tea. They are cheap and the same leaves can be repeatedly brewed several times while still retaining flavor. In fact, most of the small restaurants only offer this variety. It is only in fancier restaurants that I get to see other tea varieties being offered in the menu.

I personally haven't drank the White tea yet, as it is quite rare. My favorite is Jasmine tea, which is jasmine flower infused with green tea. It has delicate flavor and the aroma is very soothing.

Many parts of the globe consume tea, but different cultures drink tea in different ways. To drink tea the Chinese way, the tea is never to be mixed with milk or lemon. They are appreciated as it is, in its purest form. 

Before drinking tea, the first steep of tea is used to rinse the small tea cups with the help of tongs before discarding it. This is usually done over a special tray called tea tray that comes with a drainage (liquid is then collected into a pan beneath the drainage). The second steep is then served to the drinkers. The same batch of leaves can be repeatedly steeped a few more times before they start to lose flavor.

If there are too many drinkers, the steeped tea is first being transferred to a larger cup with strainer until it fills up, which is then used to distribute the tea among the many drinkers. It is called 'fair cup' as it allows all drinkers to experience the same taste of tea. Latter steeps taste differently from earlier steeps, and if all steeps are first mixed in another container before serving, they will homogenize and provide the same taste to everyone.

To learn more about Chinese Tea, here are some of the pages you may find useful:

Chinese Tea Ceremony

Types of Tea