Chinese Tea Culture

There are three major beverages in the world: tea, coffee and coke. And tea is consumed by the largest number of people. When I came here, I brought a small bag of green tea from China. China is the homeland of tea. Chinese people like tea just like American people like coffee. China had tea tree as early as five to six thousand years ago. All tea trees all over the world have their origin directly or indirectly from China. In the past one thousand years, tea always is one of the most important exports in China. Chinese tea is classified into five categories: green tea, oolong tea, scented tea, black tea and compressed tea. Green tea is the most popular tea in China. Green tea stays the original color of fresh tea leaves. There are three most common kinds of green teas: dragon well tea, maofeng tea and biluochun tea. Scented tea is a mixture of flower with green tea, black tea or compressed tea. Jasmine is the most typically scented tea. Usually, scented tea is a little bit sweet and good-looking. Lot of Chinese people like to have an after-meal cup of tea because tea-drinking has many advantages. In summer or hot climate, tea-drinking can dispel heat and make instant cooling. Additionally, it have some medical functions: anti-inflammatory and promote digestion. Besides, tea-drinking can beautify the features.