A discussion of the different tea wares used for making and drinking tea:
Hui is one of the 55 minority groups in China that mainly inhabit the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Tea is the Hui people’s favorite drink and it is their traditional custom to drink tea from covered bowls. Their favorite tea is named “Gaiwan Cha,” which literally means covered bowl tea.
”Gaiwan Cha” is made in a particular manner. The tea — which is brewed in a bowl, includes an abundance of ingredients. One of the famous recipes for “Gaiwan Cha” includes a mixture of red jujube, Chinese matrimony vine, walnut kernel, dried longan, sesame seed, raisin, white sugar and tea. It is also called “Babao Cha,” which means eight-ingredient tea. “Babao Cha” sometimes is used in health care fields as an herbal medicine because of the special ingredients used to make the tea.
”Gaiwan Cha,” among the Hui people, has its own drinking custom. It is not acceptable either to take the lid away from the bowl or to puff on the floating leaves in the bowl while drinking the tea. Instead, one needs to hold the saucer in their left hand and, with their right hand, grab the lid while keeping the lid at a certain slope on the bowl. Before drinking, it is better to scrape the surface of the tea water using the lid to set aside the floating leaves and dissolve the ingredients.
When making tea to entertain guests, the Hui people will hand over the bowl with both hands, which expresses respect to visitors. Guests should enjoy the tea by slurping lightly, which is the proper response.
In the summer, tea is regarded as a beverage to quench thirst, while in winter, people gather around a wood stove with a bowl of tea in hand to stay warm.
DAAN carries many different types of tea, try some today.
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