Tea Tour China

China is a large tea country and contains the four major tea areas of the southwest, south China, south of Yangtze River, and north of Yangtze River.

The Southwest tea region is the oldest tea production area in China, including Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and southeastern Tibet. Southwest tea region has complex terrain, towering mountains, and variable climate, which is suitable for the growth and cultivation of various large-leaf tea trees and is the main production area of high-grade green tea, Puer tea, and flower tea.

South of China tea region includes Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan, and southern Yunnan. It is a tropical monsoon climate with high temperature and rainfall and high air humidity. Moreover, these areas are mostly mountainous and hilly, with a superior natural environment, which is unique for the growth of tea trees. South of China tea region is rich in a variety of tea, such as Tieguanyin, Da Hong Pao, etc. are produced from this tea region.

The south of the Yangtze River tea region includes Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Anhui. This tea area has four seasons, which is suitable for the growth of tea trees. It is a concentrated production area of high-grade green tea, such as Longjing and Biluochun, which occupies a fairly important position in the Chinese tea region.

The north of the Yangtze River tea region includes areas in southern Shaanxi, northern Hubei, southern Henan, northern Anhui, and northern Jiangsu. The average annual temperature of this tea region is low, the winter is long and the precipitation varies from region to region. This tea region mainly produces green tea. The famous teas produced include Lu'an Melon Seed tea, Xinyang Maojian, Ziyang Maojian, etc.

The six major types of tea include green tea, yellow tea, white tea, oolong tea, dark tea, and black tea.

Green tea is the earliest type of tea in history. The ancient people collected the buds and leaves of wild tea trees and then dried them for collection, which was the earliest beginning of green tea processing. However, the real sense of the green tea processing method started in the 8th century AD. At present, the processing technology of green tea has been gradually matured and has been used and improved to this day. Green tea has a variety of shapes, mainly: strip, needle, flat, conch, spike, slice, etc. The characteristics of green tea are green leaves and clear soup, fresh fragrance, and refreshing. Green tea is mostly made of young shoots. The tea picked before Qingming is the most valuable, and the second is the tea that was picked after Qingming and before the Grain Rain. The production of green tea ranks first among the six major tea categories. Green tea is cold in nature, suitable for people with the exuberance of stomach fire and high energy level. Green tea has a good anti-radiation effect. It can clear the liver and eyes and is very suitable for people who often work in front of the computer. Green tea also has a refreshing and disinfectant effect, because green tea contains more tea polyphenols.

Yellow tea is a unique type of tea in China. The basic characteristics of yellow tea are yellow soup, yellow leaves, sweet and mellow. The production process of yellow tea is basically similar to that of green tea. But before or after the drying process, there is an additional process of covering tightly. This can promote the partial oxidation of tea polyphenols, chlorophyll, and other substances. Yellow tea is cool in nature, and its effects are similar to those of green tea. The difference is that the taste of yellow tea is more mellow than green tea. The effect of yellow tea is to eliminate food and grease, anti-cancer and anti-radiation, clear heat, and detoxification.

White tea is a precious product in the tea category. White tea is processed after being picked and dried only in the sun or over a gentle fire. White tea has an intact shape, a clear yellow-green soup color, and a light and sweet taste. White tea is cool in nature and is suitable for people similar to green tea. However, the aged green tea is grass and the aged white tea is a treasure. Aged white tea has the effect of eliminating pathogenic factors and strengthening body resistance. White tea is rich in amino acids, which have the effect of reducing fever, eliminating heat, and detoxification. In addition, it can make people feel calm and eliminate worries, mainly due to the effect of more theanine components.

The soup color of Oolong tea is green and golden, and it tastes clear and mellow. Oolong tea is mainly produced in Fujian, Taiwan, and Guangdong, with small quantities produced in Zhejiang, Sichuan, and Jiangxi. Oolong tea is also divided into many categories depending on the place of origin and the tea-making process. The most famous oolong tea in northern Fujian is Da Hong Pao; the representative of oolong tea in southern Fujian is Anxi Tieguanyin; the representative of oolong tea in Guangdong is Fenghuang(Phoenix) Dancong; the representative of oolong tea in Taiwan is Tungting Oolong Tea, Alishan Oolong and so on. Oolong tea is calm and suitable for most people. The more prominent effects are weight loss, beauty, lowering blood lipids, and blood pressure.

Dark tea is so named because of the black appearance of the finished tea. Dark tea is a unique type of tea in China, mainly made from coarse and old raw materials. Dark tea is warm in nature, and when properly stored, it has better taste and healing properties. Dark tea can also supplement dietary nutrition, mainly vitamins. Dark tea helps digestion, relieves greasiness, prevents and treats high blood lipids, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar, and also lowers blood sugar and prevents and treats diabetes.

Black tea is the most popular tea in the world today. Black tea is fragrant, colorful, with red leaves and red soup, and the taste is sweet and thick. Black tea, especially Keemun Black Tea, is the most popular in the world and at one time accounted for more than half of China's total black tea exports. Keemun Black Tea is one of the best black teas in the world. Black tea is warm in nature. It is warm for the stomach and with a more tonic effect. It can reduce the chance of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease, myocardial infarction, etc. It can also be anti-aging, skincare, and beauty.

Flower tea is also known as fragrant tea and scented tea. It is a unique category of tea in China. Flower tea is made by mixing refined tea billets with fragrant flowers. Through certain processing methods, the tea leaves could absorb the fragrant aroma of the flowers. After that, the dried flowers would be filtered out. The fragrance of the tea is strong and the tea soup is dark, which is loved by people in northern China.

Yixing's Zisha tea set rose to prominence in the early Northern Song Dynasty and became very popular in the Ming Dynasty. Unlike ordinary pottery, Zisha teapots are not glazed inside or out and are made of local purple clay, red clay, and other baked materials. Zisha tea set has invisible to the naked eye pores, and can also draw attached to the tea juice and containing tea flavor. And it does not transfer heat quickly, not to burn your hands. If the tea is served on a hot day, it is not easy to be rancid. Even if the hot and cold change dramatically, it will not break. If necessary, it can even be placed directly on the stove and simmered.

The color of the White porcelain tea set is white. It can reflect the color of tea soup. It is moderate heat transfer, insulation performance, coupled with the colorful, varied shapes, known as the treasures of tea drinking vessels. The white porcelain tea set is suitable for brewing all kinds of tea. In addition, the white porcelain tea set is exquisitely shaped and has a lot of artistic appreciation value, so that the use of the most common.

Longquan tea sets in Zhejiang produced the best quality celadon tea set. This tea set has many advantages of the porcelain tea set. However, it is easy to make tea soup lose its original face if pour the black tea, white tea, yellow tea, black tea into the cup.

Black porcelain tea set began in the late Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty. Fujian, Jiangxi, Shanxi, etc. are mass production of black porcelain tea sets, become the main source of the black porcelain tea sets.

There are many varieties of color porcelain tea sets, especially the most striking cloisonne tea set. It is characterized by blue and white patterns reflecting each other. In the late Yuan Dynasty, cloisonne tea sets began mass production. Jingdezhen has become the main production of cloisonne tea sets in China. Because of the high level of cloisonne tea set painting process, especially the traditional Chinese painting techniques used in porcelain, so this can also be said to be a major achievement of the Yuan dynasty painting. In the Ming Dynasty, Jingdezhen cloisonne tea sets, such as teapots, teacups, tea jars, have more and more varieties of colors, and the quality is more and more refined. Whether the shape, modeling, decoration, etc. are the best in the country.

Lacquer teaware is a gorgeous device made by harvesting the sap of the natural lacquer tree and then mixing it with the desired color. The lacquer tea set produced in Fuzhou is colorful. The lacquer tea set is usually a teapot with four teacups, stored in a round or rectangular tea tray. The pot, cup, and plate are usually in one color, mostly black, but also yellowish brown, brownish red, dark green, and other colors. It usually blends with calligraphy and painting in one, full of cultural significance. The lacquer tea set is light and beautiful, but also not afraid of water immersion, temperature resistance, acid, and alkali corrosion resistance. In addition to the practical value, the lacquer tea set has a high artistic appreciation value, often collected by connoisseurs.

Metal utensils are made of gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and other metal materials. It is one of the oldest daily-use utensils in China. The ancestors used bronze vessels to hold water, wine, and later these bronze vessels were naturally used to hold tea. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, tea as a beverage has gradually become fashionable. Then tea set gradually separated from other drinking utensils. About to the North and South Dynasties, China appeared the metal tea sets, including gold and silver utensils. By the time of the Sui and Tang dynasties, the production of gold and silver tea sets reached a peak.

Bamboo and wood tea sets are easy to make, have no pollution to the tea, and are harmless to the human body. Therefore, since ancient times, it has been welcomed by most people. But the disadvantage is that it can not be used for a long time and can not be stored for a long time. Therefore, most people purchase bamboo tea sets not for use but for decoration and collection.