AN ANCIENT Chinese proverb insists it is 'better to go without food for three days, than tea for one'. While the hungry may disagree, it illustrates how integral a part of Chinese life those parched and shrivelled leaves are.
According to Chinese legends, the drink was 'discovered' by a mythical emperor named Shen Nong, who was known as the Divine Cultivator and the Divine Farmer, in the year 2700BC. Shen Nong had been sitting in the shade of a tea plant boiling water, when a breeze blew some leaves into the pot.
When he drank the infusion, he was amazed at its fragrance and how invigorated he felt. The emperor recommended it to his subjects, noting the beverage gave vigour to the body, contentment to the mind and determination of purpose . . . and the rest is truly history.
Yet, partly because of the depth of its history, the art of drinking tea has become somewhat lost amid the hustle and bustle of modern living. And it shouldn't be this way, claims one tea expert.
'Foreigners often pay more attention to our culture than we do ourselves, because we sometimes take things for granted,' says Eliza Liu Tse-fong, chairperson of the International Chinese Tea Club and co-chairman of charitable organisation, Teaism Alliance Hong Kong. 'Tea has a special place in our lives. You can find it at the most elaborate and grand ceremonies and you can find it at very casual gatherings so it is quite an intimate friend.
'You can learn a lot from drinking tea. It's not just a matter of brewing the tea; it also helps cultivate tastes and culture as well as improve dispositions.'
