Tea in China
Sampling teas at Maliandao Street
Tea is probably the most drunk beverage in China. It’s served around the clock, almost always hot. It comes in dozens of variations of green and black teas, If you’re not used to drinking Chinese tea, you may find the taste bitter; sometimes it takes me four or five pots before I become accustomed to a new tea’s taste.
Maliandao Street
If you don’t know a lot about tea, Maliandao Street is a good place to learn about it. Also known as Tea Street, Maliandao Street has two blocks crammed with an estimated 1,000 tea shops in Beijing’s Xuanwu district. Besides teas, shops sell a wide variety of accessories and even works of art that are made from compressed tea.
It’s a good place to sample teas to find the one you like best. Clerks perform a small tea ceremony to show you how cha, as tea is known in China, should be prepared. We didn’t find any clerks who spoke English when we were there; luckily, we had a Chinese friend with us to explain the type of tea I was looking for.
Travel tip: If you’re approached anywhere in China by a Chinese person, usually a young adult, wanting to take you to a tea ceremony or art show, run the other way as fast as you can. It’s a scam, and that pot of tea will end up costing you hundreds of dollars.
Maliandao Street
If you don’t know a lot about tea, Maliandao Street is a good place to learn about it. Also known as Tea Street, Maliandao Street has two blocks crammed with an estimated 1,000 tea shops in Beijing’s Xuanwu district. Besides teas, shops sell a wide variety of accessories and even works of art that are made from compressed tea.
It’s a good place to sample teas to find the one you like best. Clerks perform a small tea ceremony to show you how cha, as tea is known in China, should be prepared. We didn’t find any clerks who spoke English when we were there; luckily, we had a Chinese friend with us to explain the type of tea I was looking for.
Travel tip: If you’re approached anywhere in China by a Chinese person, usually a young adult, wanting to take you to a tea ceremony or art show, run the other way as fast as you can. It’s a scam, and that pot of tea will end up costing you hundreds of dollars.
YixingTeapots from Yixing are famous the world over, and an investment grade pot with six cups can cost thousands of dollars. That’s because they’re made from zisha, a special purple clay found only in Yixing County that absorbs the flavor of the tea. Eventually, you’ll be able to make tea by only putting hot water in the pot! This is why it’s important to only use the same kind of tea in a Yixing pot, and only rinse it out between uses. If you use soap, the tea pot will absorb the soap, and you’ll find yourself drinking soapy tea.
Teapots come in all sizes, shapes and price ranges, with the price dependent on the fame of the potmaker. Teapots that cost a couple of dollars are only good for decorations; don’t drink tea from these pots as there may be a high lead content in the clay. Experts say a set that costs at least $30 should be safe to drink from. Yixing teapots can be found all over China, and you’ll find hundreds of them at Maliandao Street. But a die-hard teapot afficionado will make the pilgramage to Yixing County to buy a pot on the spot. Dingshan town in Yixing County is about a three-hour drive from Shanghai, and is doable on a really long day trip from China’s largest city. While you’re at Dingshan, be sure to visit the China Yixing Ceramics Museum which |
highlights the pottery that’s been made her for thousands of years. Just outside the museum are small shops where you can watch teapots being made. |
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Copyright 2012 by Cheryl Probst. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2012 by Cheryl Probst. All rights reserved.