Due to the development of tea production technology, the Qing Dynasty basically formed six major teas today. In addition to the original green tea, white tea, yellow tea, black tea, dark tea, and green tea (oolong tea) appeared. The increase in tea types, the different tea-making techniques, and the differences in China's regions and ethnic groups have made the expression of tea culture more colorful. In modern China, tea has penetrated into every corner and every class of our people's lives, and the ways and means of drinking tea are more diverse and diversified. Some focus on drink the tea and enjoy itself, and some focus on the blending of tea and food, pursuing the use of tea as a supplement; some focus on the taste of tea, and pursue spiritual enjoyment; some focus on famous teas; some focus on the pharmacology of tea, The pursuit of physical health; the pursuit of thirst quenching; some of tea to meet the importance friends, the pursuit of ritual; some of the philosophy of drinking tea, pursuing the use of tea to explain the world.
Until the mid-17th century, all Chinese tea was green tea. However, with the increase in foreign trade, Chinese growers have discovered that they can preserve tea through special fermentation processes. The resulting black tea retains its flavor and aroma for longer than the more refined green tea, and is more suitable for export to other countries.
The picking of black tea is mainly divided into 8 steps: 1. Make it as soon as possible after picking, in order to maintain the effective ingredients of the fresh leaves. 2. Expose the fresh leaves to dark green in the sun. 3. Manually knead the sun-dried tea leaves into strips, and knead out the juice moderately. 4. Put the tea leaves in a wooden barrel and press them tightly, cover them with a damp cloth and continue drying them in the sun until the tea fragrance is released, and the fermentation is completed. Fermentation is a unique stage in the production of black tea. It is the key to determining the quality of black tea. The temperature of fermentation is controlled below 30 degrees. After fermentation, the color of the leaves of the tea leaves turns red, forming the quality characteristics of black tea, red leaves and red soup. 5. Put the fermented tea leaves in the sun and bake them on charcoal fire in rainy days to remove 40% of the moisture. 6. Sort out different sizes of tea leaves. 7. Manually pick out the leaves that are over-fermented, sun-dried, or damaged during the production process. 8. After all the processes are completed, use a wooden box outside and tin foil inside for packaging and sealing to ensure that the tea will not get damp.
Portugal and the Netherlands first imported tea into Europe in 1610. However, the tea did not spread to the United Kingdom until 1662. Rumor has it that the Portuguese princess likes tea so much that she took it with her when she married to the United Kingdom. Afternoon tea is very popular in the UK, thanks to Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, who complained about the long interval between light breakfast and dinner. She suggested that her maid bring a pot of tea and snacks to her room.[1] Anna soon began to invite friends to have afternoon tea with her, and this trend quickly spread.
Reference
[1]Afternoontea.co.uk, 2021. History of Afternoon Tea. Available at: https://afternoontea.co.uk/information/history-of-afternoon-tea/ [Accessed 20 December 2021].