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Tea Culture:

China was the originating country of tea cultivation, which dates back 4,000 years in the southern territory. It was mostly used for medicinal purposes until 300 BC when it became a common daily drink. Many Chinese people believe that a day is not complete without a cup of tea.

In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), a tea dictionary named Cha King was published by Lu Yu, a leading tea expert of the period, who was commissioned by tea merchants to write the work.

Gradually tea was drunk less for its medicinal effects and more for its taste, prepared in the ways described in the Cha King. China started the international tea trade in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD220), when tea was exported to Persia, India and Japan and classified as a luxury drink which was served in court and regarded as the height of elegance and refinement.

Tea was commonly used for barter during the Ming period (1368-1644). In the 17th century, Dutch merchants imported Chinese to Holland from where it spread throughout Europe. At first it was only consumed by the upper classes in special tearooms, but gradually the habit was adopted by all social classes.

Chinese tea may be classified into five types according to the different methods by which it is processed.

Green tea: This variety keeps the original color of the tea leaves without fermentation during processing. This category consists mainly of Dragon Well Tea of Zhejiang Province, Maofeng of Yellow Mountain in Anhui Province and Biluochun produced in Jiangsu.

Black tea: Known as "red tea" (hong cha) in China, black tea is the category which is fermented before baking; it is a later variety developed on the basis of green tea. The best brands of black tea are Qihong of Anhui, Dianhong of Yunnan, Suhong of Jiangsu, Chuanhong of Sichuan and Xianghong of Hunan.

Oolong Tea: Representing a variety half way between green and black teas, it is made after partial fermentation. It is a specialty from the provinces on China's southeast coast: Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan.

Compressed tea: The kind of tea which is compressed and hardened into a certain shape. Most compressed tea is in the form of bricks; it is, therefore, generally called "brick tea," although it is sometimes also shaped in the form of cakes and bowls. It is mainly produced in Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.

Scented tea: Made by mixing fragrant flowers with the tea leaves in the course of processing. The flowers commonly used for this purpose are jasmine and magnolia among others. Jasmine tea is a favorite among the northerners of China and also with a growing number of foreigners.
If you come the Yellow Mountain for a tour sightseeing, you can buy some local Maofeng Tea at the market street after the mountain trekking. The tea price at the local is much cheaper than that of Hangzhou. When you enter a big tea shop, you can ask the shop owner to serve you a cup of green tea you choose. Then you decide whether you need take it or not.
For the detailed information about the local tea, I can give you some tips of what kind of tea is cost-efficient.
john@chinahuangshan.com congzhang35@hotmail.com

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