The Chinese have a saying:"'Firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea", They are the most important things in everyone's life. If you notice that, you will find the tea is the seventh necessities to begin a day， Yes, we still can see the importance of tea in daily life.
Cassification by processing:
Chinese tea may be classified into five categories according to the different methods by which it is processed.
1.White Tea 10% to 20% fermentation process, whitish coloured tea leaves but the tea is light yellow in colour when brewed. Examples: White Peony, Shou Mee.
2.Green Tea No fermentation has taken place, the ferment and enzymes remaining in the tea after wilting are destroyed by high temperature steaming before curing process, and the leaves remain olive green. Examples: Long Jin, Chu Cha.
3. Black tea, known as "red tea" (hong cha) in China, is the category which is fermented before baking; it is a later variety developed on the basis of the green tea. The best brands of black tea are Qihong of Anhui , Dianhong of Yunnan, Suhong of Jiangsu, Chuanhong of Sichuan and Huhong of Hunan.
4.Wulong tea: This represents a variety half way between the green and the black teas, being made after partial fermentation. It is a specialty from the provinces on China's southeast coast: Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan.
5.Scented tea: This kind of tea is made by mixing fragrant flowers in 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 well-known favourite with the northerners of China and with a growing number of foreigners.
Tea drinking customs：
There are several special circumstances in which tea is prepared and consumed.
1.a sign of respect: generally, we always show our respect and fealty to the older by offering a cup of tea.
2.to apologize: if Someone make a mistake, he want to show his regret and ask for other's understanding, he may give that people a cup of tea.
3.To express thanks .
4.To pass on the tradition
and so on.
Tea drinking and Tea Tasting:
Chinese tea culture not only expressing on drinking, but also in tasting.Tea drinking is for refreshment and tonic effect. but Tea tasting is a higher level drinking. it is not for satisfy one's thirst, but a enjoying course.Tea tasting has cultural meaning. Tea and tea wares should match surrounding elements such as breeze, bright moon, pines, bamboo, plums and snow. All these show the ultimate goal of Chinese culture: the harmonious unity of human beings with nature.
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