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 | |  |  | Eating and Drinking: About tea 1.Identification... | Tip Rating:    |  |  | |  |
About tea
1.Identification Methods:
1.Fresh tea and stock tea are relative conceptions. Usually, fresh tea is made of the early batches of tea leaves from tea trees of the same spring. Stock tea is made of those from last or even earlier season. They can be told by the following aspects.
1) Color: In store, chromatophores of tea can be slowly oxidized by oxygen in air with light and decompounded. Chlorophyl in green tea would change from peak green to kelly and that in brown tea would change to taupe.
2) Flavor: Because of a series of complex oxidization, the taste of tea would be not as strong or delicious as just processed .
3) Scent: Because of chemical reactions and volatilization, the scent of tea will turn weak.
2. Spring tea, summer tea and autumn tea: Spring tea is picked and cured before May, summer tea is done between June and early july, autumn tea is done after July. They are different.
1) Dry-view: Judge from the outlook, color and scent of the tea. Green tea and brown tea are tight strings. Ball tea are hard pills. Thick leaves with fuzz spread and strong scent would be best from spring. Wide, loose leaves with long stem and less scent are from summer. Irregular shaped leaves with ordinary scent are from autumn. If there are blossoms like mung beans casually found among the leaves, they are spring tea.
2) Wet-view: Just use your tongue, nose and eyes to tell the quality. The leaves sink soon after dropped in hot water with strong scent and taste, seems massive and soft with close wrinkles and smooth blades, are spring tea. The leaves sink slowly with less scent and taste sort of acerbity, seems thin and hard with sparse wrinkles and heaved blades, are summer tea. Those with irregular size, weak scent and taste, buds attached to the bottom, are autumn tea.
3. Identification of pseud tea. There're both chemical and physical differences between tea and pseud tea. Usually, you can tell by your sense organs. Sniff the tea for the special scent of tea, if there's any strange odor, it's trash! Fire will make this method easier. Watch the color of tea for its character (bottle green for green tea, jet black for brown tea, sage green for Wulong Tea), if there's mess of irregular color, it's trash! If you are not sure enough by using these methods, just apply boiling water or other chemical methods.
2.Three Essentials:
1. Quantity of tea: Different teas apply different quantiyies. For brown tea and green tea, the proportion of tea with water is 1:50 or 60. For Wulong Tea, if kettle is used, the tea will occupy half or more of the kettle's capacity. By the way, it's quite decided on age and personal habit of the conumer.
2. Temperature of water for tea: Fierce fire makes water boiling. Soon pour the boiling water into cup or kettle with tea and you'll have the delicious tea ready. But different teas apply different temperatures.
3. Dunking time and times: For ordinary green or brown tea, put about 3g dried leaves in cup and pour boiling water up to well above the tea, put the lid on for about 3 minutes. Then fill about 80 percent of the cup's capacity with hot water and drink. When there's about 1/3 water left, add hot water again. This way make an averrage thickness and can last three times. If you drink instant tea, just dunk it one time.
3.Storage:
No matter in small packages or in bulk, for family, you can't consume the tea at once. Tea in bulk must be packed again and put away. For tea is easy-decomposed and subject to dampness, there are certain methods for storage.
1. Jar: Pack the tea with wearable paper and put the packages around in bottom of a jar with a proportional package of lime in the middle. Tuck cotton or dried hey next to to lid to prevent ventilation. The lime package should be replaced every one or two months. This method will last for half a year. Without lime, silica gel will do also.
2. Tin: Tins are easy to find in markets. Those with double lids are the best to keep out dampness. It's popularly adopted for families storing extra tea. One or two packages of dried silica gel will keep the inside of the tin dry. Put the tin in cool place and this will slow down decompounding of tea.
3. Plastic bag: Modest price and convenient usage make plastic bag is the most popular material for packing. So it's the most economical and simple way for household to store tea in plastic bags. Pack the tea with soft, clean paper and put the packages in thick, substantial, clean and hermetic plastic bags. Store the bags in frozer of a refrigerator even for year round, the tea will keep intoxicating. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Eating and Drinking: The main difference between... | Tip Rating: | | | | |
The main difference between Chinese and Western eating habits is that unlike the West, where everyone has their own plate of food, in China the dishes are placed on the table and everybody shares. If you are being treated by a Chinese host, be prepared for a ton of food. Chinese are very proud of their culture of food and will do their best to give you a taste of many different types of cuisine. Among friends, they will just order enough for the people there. If they are taking somebody out for dinner and the relationship is polite to semi-polite, then they will usually order one more dish than the number of guests (e.g. four people, five dishes). If it is a business dinner or a very formal occasion, there is likely to be a huge amount of food that will be impossible to finish.
One thing to be aware of is that when eating with a Chinese host, you may find that the person is using their chopsticks to put food in your bowl or plate. This is a sign of politeness. The appropriate thing to do would be to eat the whatever-it-is and say how yummy it is. If you feel uncomfortable with this, you can just say a polite thank you and leave the food there, and maybe cover it up with a little rice when they are not looking. There is a certain amount of leniency involved when dealing with Westerners, so you won't be chastised.
One thing to be aware of is that when eating with a Chinese host, you may find that the person is using their chopsticks to put food in your bowl or plate. This is a sign of politeness. The appropriate thing to do would be to eat the whatever-it-is and say how yummy it is. If you feel uncomfortable with this, you can just say a polite thank you and leave the food there, and maybe cover it up with a little rice when they are not looking. There is a certain amount of leniency involved when dealing with Westerners, so you won't be chastised. Leave a Comment
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