Know more about Chinese Tea

The Origin

A gaiwan dated back to the 30's. It looks very close to a modern gaiwan except that the cup part is more bowl-shaped, and the plate has a big hole in the middle to hold the cup.
China is the origin of tea. It was in the South-West part of China that Chinese tea was first found.
South-Western China falls in the tropical and sub-tropical climate zone. It is covered by large areas of primeval forests. The warm and moist environment is the perfect cradle for tea trees. Huge, 2,700 years old wild tea trees and 800 years old planted tea trees can still be found there.

The Evolution

Chinese tea has been around for thousands of years. Chinese tea was first discovered and used as medicine. Then it evolved into a beverage, and further in to part of Chinese culture.

Chinese Tea's Infancy

Before 8th century B.C., Chinese tea was primarily used as a medicine.
During the Chun Qiu Period (770 BC - 476 BC), Chinese people chewed tea leaves and enjoyed the taste of tea juicy itself.

Chinese Tea Became Food & Beverage

In the next stage, Chinese tea was cooked like a soup. Tea leaves were eaten along with the soup. Tea leaves were even mixed with food. Ancient Chinese books documented that tea was eaten and used with other spices to cook at this stage.
During the Qin, Han Dynasty (221 BC - 8 AD), simple processing of Chinese tea emerged. Tea leaves were pressed into ball shapes, dried and stored. When served, tea balls were crushed and mixed with green onion, ginger, etc., and then boiled in teapots. This is the point where Chinese tea turned from a medicine into a beverage. Also, it marked the beginning of Chinese tea being used to treat guests.

Chinese Tea as Part of Chinese Culture

Chinese tea evolved from a palace treat to a common beverage during the Jin Dynasty and Nan Bei Zhao (265 AD - 589 AD).
Later during the Tang Dynasty (618 AD - 907 AD), Chinese tea trading had became extremely busy. Techniques in tea plantation and processing advanced in great speed. Lots of famous teas were developed.
In the Tang Era, Chinese tea was processed and circulated in the form of tea cakes. People started to get serious about making tea. Specialized tea tools were used and tea books were published - including the most famous "Literature of Tea" by Lu Yue. The art of Chinese tea started to take shape. That was a big leap of Chinese tea into the cultural territory.
"Tea became popular in Tang and prospered in Song (960 - 1276)". In the beginning of Song Dynasty, Chinese tea was kept in the shape of balls and cakes. When served, tea was crushed and boiled with seasoning material. But as tea drinkers became more particular, they paid more respect to the original shape, color, and taste of tea leaves. Seasoning material faded out and loose leave tea started to take the center stage.

Chinese Tea from Boiling to Brewing

From the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) onward, loose leave tea had completely taken over. During 1531 to 1595, Chinese tea completed the process of moving from boiling to brewing. Specialty tea tools like YiXing teapots became popular from then on.