From Yixing
Chinese yixing teapot in China–Steeped in the art of tea
The cup runneth over for Ewen Bell as he explores the intricacies and ceremonies of the world’s favourite drink, from oolong and medicinal leaves to a pot of Iron Buddha
‘There’s a Chinese legend about getting drunk from drinking too much tea, but I’d need a bigger cup before that happens’
WHERE but Hong Kong can you experience the joys of Mountain Jade, Golden Snow Monkey and Amber Dragon Silver Tip?
They’re not tai-chi moves, they’re varieties of tea.
Chinese culture and the English language have clashed for more than a century to yield a city of six million tea-drinkers and colourful names for delicate flavours.
The words “yum cha” literally mean “with tea”, which is how everything in Hong Kong is served . . . including the hotel rooms.
Within minutes of checking in to my suite at the Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel, I was presented with a carefully cho-sen grade of loose-leaf tea and a tall ceramic teapot in a picnic basket. I sipped from a very small cup and enjoyed the view of ferries criss-crossing the harbour.
Then I headed over to Hong Kong Island and the Museum of Tea Wares, which features a fine display of ceramics and culture from the Tang, Song and Ming dynasties.
It’s also home to the Lock Cha Tea Shop, where visitors can enjoy free classes on the art of tea, often held by the engaging owner, Mr Ip. The subtle differences between blends of green, oolong and black tea become apparent after an hour-long session of tasting and talking.
Tea offers more than just flavour, it offers health. Imbibing the heady brew of medicinal tea offered by Good Spring Company, at the corner of Stanley and Cochrane streets on Hong Kong Island, has been a popular ritual for residents since 1939.
If you can’t read the signage in Chinese, just look for the giant copper urns and long queues of locals.
One urn is filled with a regular chrysanthemum tea of pure flowers steeped in hot water, and the other urn has a se-cret mix of medicinal herbs that can be taken daily to promote good health.
I saw several monks ordering their takeaway herbals.
Not even monks can live on tea alone, so the Cantonese invented the “dim sum” breakfast. The phrase translates into “little hearts” of delicate dumplings that hide savoury delights within.
My favourite indulgence is not steamed or fried, but steeped in a pot of hot water at Ming Court, the flagship res-taurant at Langham Place on the Kowloon side of the harbour.
Its tea menu is almost as long as the list of dim sum. Of particular note is the Iron Buddha, fabled among the Chi-nese for being hand-picked leaf by leaf on a steep mountainside in Fujian province.
Visiting Ming Court for lunch has the added benefit of putting you right in the heart of Mongkok mayhem as the district’s street markets kick into gear. In contrast to the elegant environs of Langham Place, the laneways and thor-oughfares of Mongkok transform daily into a frenzy of cheap goods and local shoppers.
About the only item you won’t find in Mongkok is tea. For that, I went across the harbour to Hong Kong Island and the district of Sheung Wan, a bargain-hunters’ paradise of jade, pottery and all things tea. The traditions of century-old teahouses have given way to modern tea-sellers — instead of dim sum and a pot of hot tea, they just sell the leaves and a range of wares for brewing your own cup.
I started my tea trail at the Cat St trinket markets, a neighbourhood studded with tiny shops selling tiny teapots and even tinier teacups — about the size of a shot glass.
There’s a Chinese legend about getting drunk from drinking too much tea, but I’d need a bigger cup before that happened.
The shelves of the tea shops are decorated with ornate fine china styled with motifs of dragons, goldfish and the wise figure of Luk Yu. This eighth-century poet documented his passion for the cultivation and culture of tea, his status among centuries of Chinese connoisseurs reaching the realms of deity. An afternoon of shopping in Sheung Wan left me ready to relax and take the weight off my feet.
A short walk from the Star Ferry Terminal at Victoria Harbour is the Peninsula Hotel, where the service at after-noon tea could hardly be better if Queen Elizabeth visited daily.
The best cup of tea at the Peninsula is not the Earl Grey with cucumber sandwiches, but the one you get upstairs while waiting for a massage treatment at the Peninsula Spa.
What cup of tea wouldn’t be remembered fondly when you’re immersed in a world of sandstone and silk, awaiting the skilled hands of Hong Kong’s best masseurs?
About the Author
Offers handmade yixing teapots,also called zisha teapot, is known as the best in Chinese teapots or China teapots, and accessories from Yixing, China.
Antique Yixing teapots
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Chinese SIGNED Hand YiXing ZiSha Teapot From Teapot Scholar OF Art 380cc $17.90 |
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Awesome~YiXing Buddist (Navel the Air Hole) Teapot—Direct from Potter! $36.00 |
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1980′Chinese SIGNED YiXing ZiSha Bamboo Teapot From Teapot Scholar OF Art 390cc $9.90 |
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Chinese SIGNED Hand YiXing ZiSha Bamboo Teapot From Teapot Scholar OF Art 390cc $9.90 |
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Purple clay teapot of tree trunk from the Yixing of CN $29.99 |
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Contemporary Design Yixing Zisha Teapot from China $15.00 |
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THE PURPLE CLAY ETCHING PEONY AND DRAGON TEAPOT FROM THE YIXING OF CHINA $49.99 |
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THE PURPLE CLAY ETCHING SCENERY TEAPOT FROM THE YIXING OF CHINA $46.00 |
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THE PURPLE CLAY ETCHING PEONY TEAPOT FROM THE YIXING OF CHINA $48.00 |
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THE PURPLE CLAY LOTUS AND MANDARIN DUCK TEAPOT FROM THE YIXING OF CHINA $49.99 |
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THE PURPLE CLAY PLUM FLOWER AND BIRD TEAPOT FROM THE YIXING OF CHINA $29.99 |
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THE PURPLE CLAY PHOENIX SHAPE SHAPE TEAPOT FROM THE YIXING OF CHINA $39.99 |
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The purple clay cup 4pcs from the Yixing of China $9.99 |
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Open Led Neon Business Motion Light Sign. On/off with Chain 19*10*1 #LT002 $24.99 product Specification: Operating Voltage: 110 VAC Up to 100,000 hours of operation Time. Animation ON/OFF switch button. UL approval power cord. 8 watt power consumption which is at a very good energy efficiency. Light weight and easy to install. Safe to touch and operate. For indoor use only. Dimension Measurement: 19″L x 10″W x 1″H A metal hanging chain is included…. |
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The Beauty of Chinese Yixing Teapots: And the Finer Arts of Tea Drinking $49.95 … |
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Stonewares of Yixing, The: From the Ming Period to the Present Day $69.00 Despite its beauty, individuality and variety of design, the red or brown unglazed stoneware produced at Yixing in Jiangsu Province has received less attention than other branches of Chinese ceramic art. The Yixing potters have always specialized in the making of teapots, whose use became widespread during the Ming period as a result of the innovation of making tea from rolled leaves, rather than … |
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A Private Collection of Yixing Teapots from the Chen Yang Foundation Taipei Sunday October 19, 1997 … |