China's Top Tea-Producing Province: A Millennia-Old Legacy of Elegance and Competition
Did you see the trending topic a few days ago? "Chinese tea" has been successfully inscribed as an intangible cultural heritage!
On November 29, at the 17th regular session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Rabat, Morocco, China's nomination of "Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China" was approved and included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Chinese tea, now officially recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, vividly showcases human creativity and the charm of cultural diversity!
Schematic diagram of "Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China" included in the "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity".
As early as 2,500 years ago, tea quietly became an integral part of Chinese culture. In this millennia-long romance between people and tea, the Song Dynasty undoubtedly represented the pinnacle of tea culture's elegance and refinement. "Burning incense, preparing tea, hanging paintings, and arranging flowers" were the "four elegant pastimes" of everyday life; "tea division games" were accessible and delightful diversions; and "tea competitions" brought together various tea customs. From nobles to commoners, everyone delighted in showcasing their skills amidst the rich aroma of tea, competing to create the most exquisite and frothy brew.
Dian cha (preparing tea by whisking) is an elegant art that has endured for a thousand years since the Song Dynasty.
When and where did "tea competitions" originate? The Tang Dynasty's "Yunxian Miscellany" states: "The people of Jian call tea competitions 'ming zhan' (tea battles)."
Indeed, ever since the Southern Tang Dynasty established the imperial tea workshops in Beiyuan, Jianzhou (modern Jian'ou), the picturesque landscapes of Fujian have made it a renowned tea-producing region. The sophistication of Song Dynasty tea competitions owes much to Jian tea. Even today, the profound love for tea, deeply ingrained over a millennium, continues to thrive in Fujian.
To this day, tea enthusiasts in Fujian still practice the tradition of tea competitions.
Why not savor a cup of Fujian's fragrant tea, add a touch of imagination, and journey back to that elegant world of a thousand years ago?
Old Dragon团, true Phoenix髓, brewed to perfection.
To discuss Song Dynasty tea culture, let's begin with a small anecdote about Su Dongpo.
Have a cup of tea to moisten your throat, and listen to a story.
This literary giant of the Northern Song Dynasty loved tea throughout his life, writing countless poems about it. Even in his later years, exiled to Danzhou, he emulated the Tea Sage Lu Yu by fetching water from the river under the moonlight to brew tea for himself, finding great joy in it. His passion for tea was so well-known that even Emperor Zhezong of Song, Zhao Xu, sent an envoy to Hangzhou on official business with a special instruction: "Give this pound of fine tea to Su Shi, and let no one know."
This discreet yet intimate gift was the finest tribute tea from Beiyuan in Jianzhou: Dragon and Phoenix团 tea.
Exquisite patterns of团 tea as recorded in "Xuanhe Beiyuan Tribute Tea Catalog".
The people of Jianzhou prepared团 tea with meticulous craftsmanship.
Tea leaves were picked in the early morning while the dew was still fresh, selecting the most tender and robust spring buds. The leaves were then sorted, with inferior ones discarded and the rest graded by quality. Steaming required precise control—neither undercooked nor overcooked. Pressing involved two stages: light pressing followed by heavy pressing to thoroughly remove bitter tannins. Grinding was done sixteen times, with finer tea powder indicating higher quality. Finally, the tea was shaped, dried, baked, and blended with precious borneol camphor to create exquisite tea cakes imprinted with dragon and phoenix patterns.
Only such refined tea utensils were worthy of storing these exquisite tea cakes.
Picture: Tang Dynasty·Gold and Silver Wire Tea Basket, housed in the Famen Temple Museum.
In Su Shi's poem "Shui Diao Ge Tou: Chang Wen Da Ye Qi Tao Hua Cha," the phrases "old dragon ball" and "true phoenix marrow" refer to Jianzhou compressed tea. However, these six words are followed by a half-line—"dian jiang lai"—which speaks to the Song dynasty custom of tea drinking known as "dian cha" (whisking tea).
Dian cha, as the name suggests, involves placing tea powder into a cup, pouring boiling water over it, and then drinking it. While it sounds simple, the technique involved is extremely delicate.
How refined were the tea-drinking practices of the Song people? Even their tea utensils had elegant names.
The first preparatory step for dian cha is "zhi cha" (roasting tea). The tea cake is first soaked briefly, the surface oil is scraped off, and then it is roasted until dry. Only then can the tea cake be broken apart and ground into powder using a tea roller.
The ground tea powder is sifted through a fine sieve, a step known as "luo cha" (sifting tea). The finer the tea, the better—it’s advisable to sift multiple times to achieve a light, floating consistency in the water and a glossy, congee-like surface.
The fragrance of tea already wafts out as soon as it is ground.
Image / Tu Chong · Chuang Yi; Photography / Xu Jie
The next step is "hou tang" (waiting for the water). Boiling water is essential for whisking tea, and controlling the heat is crucial. The Song people judged the water’s readiness by the sound of its boiling, even summarizing the technique in poetry: "When the sound of pine wind and cypress rain first arrives, swiftly remove the copper bottle from the bamboo stove. After the sounds fade into silence, a bowl of spring snow surpasses the finest nectar."
At this point, one must not rush to whisk the tea. Instead, the teacup should be preheated—a step called "xie zhan" (warming the cup)—to fully release the tea’s aroma.
After so many steps, the highlight of dian cha arrives! Take a spoonful of tea powder, mix it with a small amount of boiling water to form a smooth paste, then pour in more boiling water while stirring vigorously with a tea whisk or spoon until a thick, pure white foam appears—what the ancients called "mo bo" (tea froth). Finally, a bowl of beautifully colored, fragrant, and delicious tea is ready.
The whisked tea broth is "overflowing with milky mist, rising above the cup."
Image / Tu Chong · Chuang Yi; Photography / Xu Jie
"The Northern Garden will soon present tribute to the Son of Heaven; the heroes beneath the trees first compete in beauty."
With such a complex technique for whisking tea, it was not something to be consumed casually. Before drinking, the Song people enjoyed comparing the quality of tea and the skill of whisking—a practice known as "dou cha" (tea competition).
Dou cha was a unique ritualistic aspect of tea drinking in the Song dynasty.
The first step of dou cha is "dou fu" (competing in foam). If the tea powder is finely ground and the whisking technique is skillful, the tea will fully integrate with the water, forming a thick, rich foam that lingers on the surface of the tea and adheres to the inner wall of the cup—a phenomenon called "yao zhan" (biting the cup). The longer the foam lasts and the later the water marks appear, the higher the skill.
The second criterion for dou cha is "dou se" (competing in color). Emperor Huizong of Song, a tea enthusiast, personally wrote the "Da Guan Cha Lun" (Treatise on Tea), setting the standard for tea color: "Pure white is the highest quality, bluish-white comes next, gray-white is inferior, and yellowish-white is even lower." A tea broth with snow-white foam was considered the finest in the eyes of the Song people.
Skilled tea artists could even use a tea spoon to create elegant patterns on the surface of the tea.
The custom of dou cha originated in Jianzhou. As a major tea-producing region, tea farmers and producers in Jianzhou naturally enjoyed spontaneous competitions. Later, Jianzhou became a tribute tea center, and Jian tea gained a reputation as "unrivaled under heaven, unobtainable by ordinary means." The folk practice of tea competitions evolved into a lively spectacle, as described in the lines: "The Northern Garden will soon present tribute to the Son of Heaven; the heroes beneath the trees first compete in beauty." This practice flourished and spread across the country alongside the popularity of Jian tea.
Thus, the Song people and Jian tea mutually elevated each other, together pushing Song dynasty tea culture to an unprecedented peak of prosperity.
As the Yangtze River waves push forward, each new generation excels the last.
After the Song Dynasty, the art of whisking tea was gradually replaced by steeping leaf tea, and the practice of tea competitions quietly faded. However, in Fujian, the tradition of tea competitions never ceased. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, they continued the romance between people and tea with a new generation of tea mountain pride—oolong tea.
In northern Fujian, Wuyi rock tea inherited the thousand-year legacy of Beiyuan tribute tea. Gentle charcoal firing coaxes out a rich "rock rhyme," truly embodying "the essence of mountains and rivers, blessed with the elegance of rock bones and floral fragrance." In southern Fujian, Anxi Tieguanyin is the most renowned oolong tea, with its unique "Guanyin charm"—a delicate, high aroma and subtle sweetness—gaining great fame since the mid-Qing Dynasty.
Shaking and rolling are crucial steps in the production of Anxi Tieguanyin.
Figure 1: Shaking; Figure 2: Rolling.
Song Dynasty tea competitions focused on the skill of whisking and brewing, while modern competitions emphasize tea-making techniques and the quality of the tea itself. Among the six major tea categories, oolong tea is renowned for its complex craftsmanship. Plucking, sun-withering, air-withering, shaking, pan-firing, rolling, roasting... each step requires meticulous attention, and each variety has its own standards, all interconnected and leaving no room for carelessness.
After painstakingly producing new tea, the celebration for tea farmers and masters begins. They select their finest self-made teas, bringing their own charcoal, tea sets, and mountain spring water, gathering enthusiastically. On-site, they boil water and brew tea, with dozens of entries lined up. They compete in shape, color, aroma, and taste, as tea masters take turns sampling all contestants' brews to determine the best and crown the Tea King—a great delight for tea lovers.
In modern tea competitions, the audience serves as the judges.
Year after year, spontaneous Tea King competitions continually inspire the production of excellent tea, while corporate involvement has expanded the possibilities of these events. In this process, Bama Tea, founded by a representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage project—oolong tea production techniques (Tieguanyin production techniques) from a century-old tea-making family, has played an indispensable role.
With the original intention of "helping tea farmers increase income and selecting fine tea for consumers," Bama Tea has continuously held Tea King competitions in the two major oolong tea origins—Wuyishan and Anxi. In 2022, Bama Tea significantly increased the competition funds, investing over 15 million yuan to crown the Tea Kings of Wuyi rock tea and Anxi Tieguanyin, substantially boosting confidence in the tea industry.
At the 2022 Wuyi Rock Tea "Dual World Heritage" Cup Tea King Competition, experts are evaluating tea samples.
With over 20 authoritative experts and multiple rounds of rigorous evaluation, the total number of entries reached a record high. In the 2022 Wuyi Rock Tea "Dual World Heritage" Cup and the 2022 Anxi Tieguanyin "Saigon Pearl" Cup Tea King competitions, selected teas stood out.
The Da Hong Pao Tea King comes from the core production area of Wuyishan, known for its clear waters and red cliffs. Wuyi rock tea grows in rocky crevices and mountain gaps, where the tea trees are exceptionally tall, straight, and glossy. The dry tea is tightly rolled, robust, and oily in color, emitting a slight roasted aroma. After brewing, it becomes exceptionally rich and mellow, with a strong rock rhyme.
The Rougui Tea King has a distinctive character. Its golden-yellow liquor is bright and vibrant, with a rich, intense, and sharply spicy aroma that irresistibly penetrates the heart and soul.
At the competition, the Rougui Tea King is crowned.
The Old Bush Shui Xian Tea King carries a unique "bush flavor," with a smooth, thick liquor and a mellow, sweet, and refreshing taste. By the seventh or eighth infusion, a subtle woody aroma emerges, with a pronounced sweetness and a long-lasting aftertaste.
The Anxi Tieguanyin Tea King comes from the high-mountain tea gardens of "Inner Anxi," where the climate is mild and rainfall abundant. Here, "flowers bloom all year round with frequent rain, and though winter brings no snow, thunder is heard." The连绵的峰峦 and misty clouds nurture Tieguanyin tea varieties with thick, dark green, glossy leaves. The sand-green "dragonfly head" finished tea is tightly rolled and heavy. When brewed, the liquor is golden and bright, with a captivating orchid aroma.
Fujian's tea competitions,延续千年, have seen continuous evolution in tea varieties and production techniques, but the love for tea remains unchanged.
As the Yangtze River waves push forward, each new generation excels the last. In Fujian, with generations of tea makers dedicating their hearts and companies like Bama Tea passionately selecting fine teas, we have every reason to believe that the millennia-old tea culture will shine even brighter, and the enchanting aroma of tea will eventually conquer the world.
Visit any of Bama Tea's over 2700 stores to savor the elegance of this millennia-old tea.
Cartography | Jiuyang, Yu Yitiao
Unsigned image source in the text: Bama Tea Industry
"Tea and Social Life in the Song Dynasty" by Shen Dongmei
"Su Dongpo's Afternoon Tea" by Chen Peng