The formation stage of tea culture: the first stage: decoction and drinking method
When our ancestors were still in the primitive tribal period, they often did not have enough to eat because of their low productivity. When they found that the leaves of tea trees were non-toxic and edible, they only drank tea to fill their stomachs, not to enjoy the color, fragrance and taste of tea, so they could not be regarded as drinking tea. When people found that tea can not only relieve summer heat and quench thirst, but also cheer up the spirit and treat many diseases, tea began to be separated from food. Boiling tea juice to cure diseases is the first stage of drinking tea. At this stage, tea is medicine. At that time, the output of tea was very small, and it was often used as a sacrifice.
The second stage: drinking soup.
From pre-Qin dynasty to Han dynasty, tea changed from medicine to drink. At that time, the drinking method was just like what Guo Pu said in Er Ya Zhu: Tea? Can you make it into soup? ; That is to say, when cooking tea, add corn and seasoning to cook porridge. In the Tang Dynasty, this drinking method was still in use. Most ethnic minorities in remote areas of China accepted the habit of drinking tea in the Tang Dynasty, so they are still used to adding other foods to tea juice.
Stage 3: grinding and drinking.
This method appeared as early as the Three Kingdoms period, became popular in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. Zhang Yi of Wei in the Three Kingdoms Period recorded in Guangya:? Picking leaves for cakes between Jing and Ba. Old Ye Man, the cake is made of rice paste. If you want to cook tea, fry it until it is red, mash it, put it in porcelain, cover it with soup, and use onion, ginger and orange pen. Sober up and sleepless. ? It is very clear here that the tea collected at that time should be made into cakes first, and then mashed and boiled when drinking. This is the same as drinking brick tea today. It should be said that it is a brewing method. Ancestors? . But do you need to add tea made of soup at this time? Onions, ginger, oranges? If you stir, you can see the traces of the transition from soup drinking to brewing drinking. Before the middle Tang Dynasty, Lu Yu had clearly opposed adding other spices to tea, emphasizing that tea should taste original flavor. It shows that the way of drinking tea at that time was also changing. Pure tea brewing, known as the Tang Dynasty? Qingming? . After drinking tea, chewing tea and savoring its taste, you can get great enjoyment. Song people mainly drank brewed tea, and the way of drinking soup was rare except in remote areas.
The fourth stage: soaking and drinking.
The fourth stage of drinking tea can be called whole leaf brewing.
This law began in the Tang Dynasty and prevailed since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The method of steaming green tea was invented in the Tang Dynasty, which specially collected the tender buds in spring, made loose tea after steaming and baking, and brewed with whole leaves when drinking. This is another progress in drinking tea. Loose tea is of good quality and pleasant taste, which has aroused great interest of drinkers. In order to distinguish the quality of tea, a set of methods for evaluating the color, aroma and taste of tea had been formed at that time. Grinding drinking method and whole leaf brewing method coexisted in Song Dynasty. In the Ming dynasty, the main method of making tea was loose tea, and the drinking method was basically whole leaf brewing. This is the same way that most people drink tea today.
The current drinking methods such as instant tea and tea beverage may be the beginning of new drinking methods.
The Health-preserving Function of Tea in Tea Culture (1) Tea can refresh the mind and enhance the ability of thinking and memory.
(2) Tea can eliminate fatigue, promote metabolism and maintain the normal functions of the heart, blood vessels and gastrointestinal tract.
(3) Drinking tea is of great benefit to the prevention of dental caries.
(4) Tea contains many trace elements beneficial to human body.
(5) Tea can inhibit malignant tumor, and drinking tea can obviously inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
(6) Drinking tea can inhibit cell aging and prolong life.
(7) Drinking tea can excite the central nervous system and enhance exercise ability.
(8) Drinking tea has a good slimming and beauty effect.
(9) Drinking tea can prevent senile cataract.
(10) Drinking tea can protect people's hematopoietic function.
(1 1) Drinking tea can prevent heatstroke and cool down.