Drosselmeyer Magazine

If you decide to immerse in Chinese folk culture, you will discover that drinking tea is an important part of it. Chinese tea houses not only serve delicious tea – they are venues where people delight in their spare time and present a glimpse at the Chinese tradition. Often they entertain their guests with performances such as opera, comedies, magic tricks, acrobatics and more. That makes the tea houses a special tourist attraction.

So how far are you ready to go for China’s best tea?

These places are highly recommended:

1. Lao She Tea House

It’s a circus of a sort. As motley as a casino, it mixes the modern and the ancient in its interior. It’s a place where a lot of enthusiastic artists present their talents. On a daily basis, you can enjoy opera, folk arts, magic, acrobatics and other incredible performances. Lao She presents a colorful glimpse at Chinese culture. Your palate may delight in a variety of teas, sweet desserts, and traditional snacks. It, is an expensive place and the menu is only in Chinese, and it is worth every bit of your time and money. It has had more than 2 million visitors with a lot of celebrities among them.

Tea has a very long, colorful and rich history throughout the years.  But it all started in China, thus it stands to reason that it is there that we should look for the origins of the tea and tea processing.

Tea is harvested from an evergreen shrub called Camellia sinensis, but it has some varieties (Chinese tea is made from Camellia sinensis var. sinensis as to Indian Assam teas are made with Camellia sinensis var. assamica.) Indigenous to the East and Southeast Asia region as well as India this plant can now be found all around the world.

Tea has been known through the centuries as a healing remedy for many diseases, such as infections, coronary illnesses, asthma and much more. But what does the process of getting this amazing drink include – from the fields that it is grown to the warm cup of tea we love to drink?

Even though tea comes in a great variety of tastes, aromas, and shape, the method of processing this herb is quite identical.

Japanese people serve their tea with Wagashi. Those are incredibly pretty confections, which have become a part of the tea ceremony tradition and balance the bitter taste of the matcha tea with their sweet paste. Wagashi is made from various combinations of sweetened beans and rice floor – it’s a vast diversity from jellies and sponge cakes, to frozen ices and mocha. In order to indulge in this pleasure, you have to visit a proper tea house in Tokyo, where the ceremony is expertly conducted so that you may appreciate it with all your senses.

1. Yakumo Saryo

This venue is a restaurant and a tea room called Sabo, and its specialty is seclusion. It is in a silent area of the city, and it holds a garden of plum trees and a room with a view to it. It’s a place where tradition meets innovation. For breakfast, they serve “Asacha” – A traditional Japanese Breakfast set, featuring seasonal tea along with rice or porridge and some carefully selected dishes. In the Sabo, you can enjoy fresh Japanese sweets with many variations of tea and liquor. The house also offers a selection of traditional Japanese food souvenirs or gifts made in the region.

Everything stops in England for it’s time for tea.

1. The Bat’s Wing Tea Room, Isle of Wight

It’s such a beautiful place – it looks like the house made of sugar in the folk tale of Hansel and Gretel. Visiting it is like going back in time – an old-fashioned room full of enchantment and very peaceful. They do not serve merely tea. They bake shortbread, cakes, and scones, which are gluten-free! They serve crab sandwiches and soup with sweet potato and rosemary. They sell boutique lacy handkerchiefs. From a tea room, The Bat’s Wing has become a landmark, people are actually booking accommodations near the Bat’s Wing.

Labeled as the world’s second-biggest tea producer and the primary consumer of tea, India is a country with an interesting and complex connection to the plant. In 2013 the green tea consumption had grown by the whopping 50%, putting the country on the fast track of developing an even bigger market for their product. When it comes to tea – India has always been a synonym for quality and tradition.

History of the tea in India

Tea has been used in India as a medicine since 750BC when herbs like mint, licorice, pepper, and cardamom were utilized. The practice of boiling herbs in order to drink them has been referred to in the Ramayana. Later there are mentions of Buddhists utilizing the herbal drink.

Tea became widely popular and commercially produced thanks to the Brits. The British Empire relayed heavily on China in order to obtain their beloved tea. Soon though, it became obvious to England that they needed to find other suppliers for the herb, as China’s monopoly of tea was not in their favor.