Tea Time

Nowhere in China more than Sichuan better represents the culture of drinking tea; it is a way of life here. As a lover of tea myself, Chengdu's tea culture is something I've been looking forward to immersing myself in.

The art of drinking tea dates back 3,000 years. Traditionally, tea houses functioned as a center for social life, a place where people read poetry, watched opera, played ma jiang, gossiped about their neighbors, and even had their ear wax removed (a service still offered by some of Chengdu's tea houses). The neighborhood around our hotel has a few rather high-end tea houses (apparently, South Chengdu is where the rich people live), where a cup of tea costs as much as a one-hour massage at a nearby store front (about $3 - a rather pricey cup of tea and a preposterously cheap massage).

But this weekend we had an authentic Chengdu tea house experience. Not only did I get to enjoy the most amazing cup of jasmine tea I have ever tasted, I got to enjoy the company of new friends even better. We went with May and her boyfriend Jun, and little did we know that they are both tea experts - Jun is quite a connoisseur and May's father is a quality control officer at a famous Sichuan tea company. May and Jun educated us on the proper way to drink tea and the significance of the lid, the cup, and the saucer (representing heaven, man, and earth). We lounged in huge wicker chairs in a beautiful open tea house, just taking a break from a busy day of sightseeing and shopping, and taking time to slow down and appreciate life's simple pleasures. We talked about politics, culture, relationships - all those things you're supposed to talk about when you sit down to tea with new and old friends. Now I love tea even more.