Training > Art Class > Chinese Tea Ceremony
Tiongkok dikenal sebagai tempat asal muasal teh, dan memiliki sejarah terpanjang dalam hal budidaya, produksi dan konsumsi teh di dunia. Budaya minum teh telah menjadi bagian lekat dari kehidupan sosial masyarakat Tiongkok. Dalam perjalanannya, industri teh memainkan peranan penting dalam bidang ekonomi, seni dan filosofi.
Menurut legenda, teh pertama kali ditemukan di Tiongkok oleh Kaisar Shennong. Saat itu ia tengah duduk di bawah pohon Camellia Sinensis, sambil memegang secangkir air panas. Tidak sengaja, sehelai daun Camellia jatuh tepat ke dalam cangkir. Ternyata daun tersebut membuat air panas dalam cangkir mengeluarkan aroma dan rasa yang khas. Maka dari peristiwa tersebut lahirlah budaya minum teh. Hikayat lain menyebutkan bahwa sang kaisar adalah seorang ahli herbal dan menemukan bahwa teh memiliki khasiat menyembuhkan racun-racun tertentu. Teh pun menjadi komponen penting dalam pengobatan tradisional Tiongkok.
Seiring perjalanan waktu, budidaya dan produksi teh di Tiongkok pun semakin berkembang. Berbagai daerah mengembangkan jenis dan varietas teh yang khas, hingga terbentuklah enam jenis teh yang kita kenal hingga sekarang: teh putih, teh hijau, teh kuning, teh oolong, teh hitam dan Puern. Setiap jenis dipercaya memiliki khasiat dan kelebihan masing-masing.
Peran Teh dalam Tatanan Sosial Masyarakat Tiongkok
Selain digunakan sebagai minuman herbal, teh juga memegang peran utama dalam bermacam-macam konteks sosial. Salah satu contoh, seni upacara minum teh dan ritual penyajian teh dipandang memiliki nilai penting dalam komunitas masyarakat Tiongkok, dan tradisi saling memberikan teh dipercaya sebagai cara untuk membangun dan memelihara hubungan sosial. Teh juga dapat dilihat sebagai simbol rasa hormat dan terimakasih, sehingga teh dapat diberikan sebagai hadiah untuk memperlihatkan penghargaan atau permohonan maaf. Teh bukan hanya minuman yang nikmat dan memberikan manfaat kesehatan, tapi juga simbol sosial yang kuat dan kompleks.
zé means “to measure”. The function of the tea scoop is to take certain amount of dry tea leaves out of the tea caddy. It is commonly made of bamboo: split a bamboo pole in half, and then polish the front end into a shape that easily scoops the tea. There are also wood and metal tea scoops with different styles.
The teaspoon used in tea ceremony is shaped like a stick more than a spoon, with its one end slightly curved. It is mainly used to move dry tea leaves from the tea holder or tea scoop into the teapot, and to dig out brewed tea leaves from the teapot.
Tea tongs, also known as tea chopsticks, are small tools used for warming tea cups. Using the tea tong, the tea artist picks up the tea cups to discard the first serving of tea. They can also be used to pick out the brewed tea leaves from the teapot.
Traditionally, the cups are placed in hot water for sterilization and warming up before serving tea. After this step, tea tongs come in handy for gripping the hot cups and placing them on the tea tray, which keeps the cups sanitary and the hands from burning.
Tea tray is used to accommodate tea set and tea accessories and to keep the table from getting messy and wet.
There are single-layer tea trays as well as tea draining trays. A tea draining tray is also called Gongfu tea tray. It consists of a grate on top and a pan underneath to collect waste liquids, sometimes it comes with a hose connected to the pan to drain the waste liquids to a bucket. It’s perfect for Gongfu tea method which has repeatedly rinsing process.
When you choose a teapot, it is necessary to check whether the lid fits the body of the teapot precisely. Otherwise the heat can easily run out when the tea is brewing, affecting the overall flavour of the tea.
Common materials of teapots include porcelain, purple clay (zisha), glass, or even stone. Purple clay teapots are one of the most popular kinds. With great air permeability and low thermal conductivity, purple clay teapots are ideal for brewing tea.
A gaiwan is made up with a lid, a bowl, and a saucer. It is used to steep tea and then pour the infusion into a tea cup or a fairness cup to share.
Gaiwans are usually made of ceramic, zisha and glass, and they are small in size. The volume of a gaiwan is generally 100-150 ml.
If you pour the tea into the tea cups directly from the teapot, there may be a case where one cup of tea is weaker and another is stronger. A serving cup, which is called “fairness cup”will solve this problem.
Pour the brewed tea in a fairness cup from the teapot or the gaiwan first. That way the flavour and the colour of the tea are evened out, then pour the tea from the fairness cup into tea cups, everyone can taste the same tea, how fair!
A tea tasting cup, also called “tea tasting cup” (pin míng bei, ), usually has no handle and it is small in size. How small is it? The volume is just right for one gulp of tea or a few sips. There is a rule about the amount of tea that is poured into the cup for the guests: it should be no more than 80% full. Because it’s hard to lift the cup full of hot tea without burning the hands or spilling the tea.
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