Theauthor,Jos茅A.MorenteP茅rez,holdsabasketoftealeavesbeforetheyundergothe鈥渞attling鈥漰rocess,adistinctivestepofmakingTieguanyin鈥攁premiumvarietyofChineseoolongtea鈥攊nAnxi,FujianProvince.courtesyoftheauthorItisdifficulttopinpointexactlywhenIstartedlikingtea;itfeelslikeIhavealwayshadsomeaffectionforit.Myearliestmemoryisofmyaunt鈥檚countryhomeinAntequerainsouthernSpain.IrememberleavinghomeattwilightduringthesummertopickpeppermintleavestomakeMoroccantea.Wewouldbrewitatnightandthenchillittoenjoycoldthenextday.Iwasaveryactivekid,somyauntwouldn鈥檛letmedrinktoomuch.Still,wheneverIwashome,thelittlejarofteawouldnotlastformorethanacoupleofhours.AndIwasnotveryhappyaboutsharingit.
InSpain,wedon鈥檛drinkteasoreligiouslyliketheydoinEngland.Coffeeismuchmorepopular.However,thankstothemanyArabpeoplelivinginSpain,especiallyinthesouthpartofthecountry,itisrelativelyeasytofindArabteahouses.AndnocityinSpainismoreinfluencedbyArabculturethanGranada,thecapitalcityoftheNazariteKingdom.There,teashopscanbefoundallovertheplace.Ilivedinthecityforalmostsixyearsandfrequentedteashopswithfriendstoenjoythedrinkinthebeautifulatmosphereoftheseexoticplaces.Imetmygirlfriendinateahouse.Iofferedherapoorexplanationofmyfascinationwithtea:鈥淚don鈥檛knowmuch,justteaandherbs.鈥漈hismadeherlaugh,soIguessitworked.ButnowwhenIlookback,IthinkIhadnoideaaboutteabackthen.
FirstImpressions
WhenIcametoChinaforthefirsttime,teawasn鈥檛onmylistofthingstodo.IgotanopportunitytostudyChineseinBeijingthankstoascholarshipfromtheConfuciusInstitute.Rightnexttomyuniversitywasateahouse.IwenttherewithsomefriendsformyfirstcupofteainChinaandfellinlovewithit.Itfeltlikeawholenewworldwaitingtobediscovered.Ididn鈥檛knowmanyforeignerswholoveteaasmuchasIdo,soinvitingthemtoateahousewasn鈥檛anoption,andIlackedanyChinesefriendsbecausemyChinesewasnotgoodenough.DuringtheyearIgotthechancetoassistwithafewteaactivities,duringwhichmypassionkeptincreasing.IalsohadthechancetovisitMaliandaoTeaStreetafewtimesandtriedawidevarietyofChinesetea.MaliandaoisthebiggestteamarketinChina,locatedneartheBeijingWestRailwayStation.Bytheendoftheyear,IpackedupmykungfuteasetandseveraldifferentvarietiesofChinesetea.Fiveyearslater,Istillthinkaboutbrewingteaformyfriendsattheuniversityallthetime.Andagain,IlookbackandseeIknewnothing.
Fuzhou:TeaCapital
IleftChinaanddidnotreturnforawhile.BackinSpain,Iactuallyforgotaboutteaabit,somehow,butitfeltlikesomethingwasmissinginmylife.Chinaneverletsgoofyou.Eventually,Istartedlookingforopportunitiestoreturntothiscountry.IgotajobofferinFuzhou,thecapitalofcoastalFujianProvinceinsoutheasternChina.Asmostpeopledobeforetraveling,Icheckedtheinternettofindmoreaboutthecity.Itissurroundedbymountains,whichattractedmealmostasmuchastea.LittledidIknowaboutthehiddensurprisewaitingforme:Fuzhouisnotonlyabeautifulcitysurroundedbygorgeousmountains,butalsotheglobalChineseteacapital.
UponarrivinginFuzhou,Iquicklynoticedthateverybodywasdrinkingtea,andteatableswereeverywhere.Infact,itseemedimpossibletositatatableorhaveaconversationwithoutdrinkingtea.Moreover,peopleinFujianProvinceareverypickyaboutthewaytheybrewtheirtea,andtheteaceremonywaslikelybornthere.
LearningfromamentorisdeeplyrootedinChineseculture.AftermovingtoFuzhou,ImovedintoasharedapartmentwithaguynamedRaphwhohappenedtoknowasmuchaboutChineseteaasanyWesternerIhadevermet.ThecombinationofcertainfactorslikemehavingadeepinterestinChinesetea,livingintheworld鈥檚ChineseteacapitalandsharinganapartmentwithapersonobsessedwithitcreatedaperfectstormfortotalimmersioninChineseteaanditsculture.October20,2017:Contestantsofthe鈥淐hineseBridge鈥漧anguagecompetitionlearnaboutChineseteaculturewithmiddle-schoolstudentsinKunming,capitalofChina鈥檚southwesternYunnanProvince.VCGFromTeatoPeople
OneofthebestthingsaboutthishobbyisthatifyoulikeChinesetea,youenduphangingoutwithChinesepeople.Asaresult,yourChinesespeakingskillsandknowledgeofthecultureincreasefaster.WithstrongerChineselanguageskills,youcanmoreeasilylearnaboutteaanditsculture.Thisisthemostwonderfulthingabouttea鈥攏otthedrinkitself,buteverythingelseitbringsalongwithit.AndonethingteahasgivenmeisloveandrespectforChinaanditsculture.
Whenyouaretrulyconnectedwiththelocals,theystopregardingyouasaforeigner,whichisadifficulttaskforaCaucasianinChina.IhavevisitedmanyteafieldsinChinaandtraveledmanyextremelybeautifulplacestoseekthebestteaandlearnaboutcultivationandprocessingtechniques,butultimatelyIdiscoveredthebestpeoplemorethanthebesttea.TeahasgivenmethechancetomeetpeopleandvisitstunningplacesalloverChina.Soteaalsoremindsmeoftraveling.Oneofmyfavoriteplacestogatherwithpeopleoverteaisfarawayfromthemountains:China鈥檚capital鈥擝eijing.Asyoucanimagine,itishometomillionsofteaenthusiasts.OnecanevenjointheBeijingTeaClub,whichoffersauniqueenvironmenttolearnaboutteaandmeetinterestingpeople.IameternallygratefultothisorganizationnotonlybecauseitenabledmetomeetotherpeoplefondofteaandfacilitatedsomanyexperiencestogrowmyloveforChina,butalsobecauseIfeltlikeathomeinthatgroup.There,Iwasnolongeraforeigner,whichisthebestthingthatcanhappentoyouwhilelivingabroad.AbeautifulphraseinChinesereads鈥測uanfen.鈥滻treferstofateorchancebringingpeopletogether,andthatiswhatteaisallabout鈥攂ringingpeopletogether.
TheauthorisaSpanishengineerwhohasbeenlivinginChinaforthepastfiveyears.