More than boil and brew
The artistry of tea

Photos & text by
Candy Tong, Emily Lai & Vien Wong

Tea is nearly 5000 years old and was discovered, as legend has it, in 2737 B.C. by Chinese emperor Shen Nong. When some tea leaves accidentally blew into his pot of boiling water, he decided to drink it and found that it was surprisingly refreshing.

Tea became popular among Chinese people and spread throughout their culture. Although it is common to drink tea, not many people know the proper method of brewing and drinking tea.

Tea is mainly divided into six categories: green tea, yellow tea, white tea, red tea, black tea and oolong tea. The choice of the teaware, the amount of tea leaves, the temperature of the water and the time for warming the teapots vary for different kinds of teas.

The process of correctly brewing tea consists of several different stages. When the pot is first brewed the taste of the tea is very strong, and instead of drinking it, one should use it to rinse the teacups. The third brewing actually produces the best taste. Tea experts maintain that the fragrance must be appreciated to fully experience tea. They suggest that smelling the remaining tea after taking a sip from the cup will help to enhance the taste.

Candy Tong

The first brew of tea is not good enough for drinking.

Candy Tong	Vien Wong
One should also smell the fragrance that remains after drinking the tea.	Some pu-erh tea leaves are compacted in order to frement them better.

Vien Wong	Vien Wong	Candy Tong
A tea receptacle allows people to appreciate tea leaves before brewing.	Purple clay teapots can best brew pu-erh hea leaves.	Different types of tea leaves give different tastes.

 

Emily Lai

One should slowly drink tea in a quiet place to best savor the favor.