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China Green Teas

"China Tea" is a term used to describe tea grown in China for the foreign or export market only. "Chinese Tea" is the term used to describe that tea which is grown in China and intended for local or internal consumption only. We, in the United States, would probably never taste "Chinese Tea". That may be both good and bad at the same time. There are over 1,200 varieties of tea grown in China and since only a very few are exported, we are limited to what taste experience we can enjoy. On the other hand, it insulates us from some extremely unpalatable teas.

Tea is thought to have originated in China, broadly speaking, where longitude 100 passes through the Tropic of Cancer. From China it spread by seed, and for the most part without the intervention of man, to most other parts of what is now known as the tea-growing world, either directly or in steps from one country to another. There are exceptions to this natural spread but they are limited to those varieties hybridized by man.

The precise history of China Green Tea (China Black Tea is a relatively new process or invention) is difficult to trace and thus establish. There are some tea scholars who say it is 2,000 years old, others 2,500 and still others say it may be 5,000 years old. There are several reasons for this confusion. The Chinese character (ideogram) for tea, until recent times, was basically the same character as that used for an herbal tea made from sow thistle or sow weed, making it difficult to know exactly to which plant a writer was referring. Another reason is that as each succeeding dynasty rose to the "Dragon Throne, " they would eliminate previous records of a particularly excellent tea and literally rewrite history to make their dynasty the one which discovered that particular tea. Also, at certain times in China's history, there were two or more ruling dynasties or a major and a minor dynasty coexisting, each of which would rewrite the history of tea or a specific tea to prove that they had discovered it. Historical records regarding China tea became very confused and confusing. The only thing that can be said for certain is that the art of growing, processing, brewing and drinking tea evolved in China; just when, however, is totally uncertain.

There are a number of China teas available to us, but because of growing conditions and plucking seasons they are not all available at the same time. Below are just a few, a very few, with their English spelling, Old Chinese spelling and New Chinese spelling:

English             Old Chinese          New Chinese
____________________________________________________
Dragon's Well       Lung-Ching           Long-Jing
Lion's Peak         Shih-Feng            Shi-Feng
White Cloud         Pai-Yun              Bai-Yun
Jeweled Cloud       Pao-Yun              Bao-Yun
Purple Sprout       Tz'e-Sun             Ce-Sun
Old Man's Eyebrows  Shou-Mei             Shou-Mee
                                         Sow-Mee
(None)              Pu-Erh               Pu-Er
Country Green       Ching-Cha            Ching-Cha
Oolong (Style)      Wu-Lung              Wu-Lung
                                         Wu-Long

There are, as you the reader may have guessed, hundreds and hundreds more that could be listed (and many of them are listed in our subscription-only information letter) but the above represent some of the more familiar.

If one enjoys excellent China green or Oolong teas, it is a must to prepare them using fine utensils from China. We most heartily recommend Yixing (pronounced E-SHing) Ware. That is, authentic Yixing Ware, not imitation or Yixing style (refer to section: Yixing Ware for more detail).

We respectfully quote from an honored Tea Master (Mr. John Blofeld): "a combination of fine tea, enchanting objects and soothing surroundings exerts a therapeutic effect by washing away the corrosive strains and stress of modern life...(it) induces a mood that is spiritually refreshing...(and produces) a genial state of mind." I honor Mr. Blofeld, now deceased, for the years he devoted to his studies of China Green and Semi-Black Teas.

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Copyright © February 1996