By Shelly

“Chinese tea is different to English tea as they prefer to use tea bag. In China tea leaves are used to bring the lovely leaf taste together with the boiling water.

Green tea is famous in China and is called Tei Guan Yin in Mandarin. When my father was young he preferred green tea, but now he is older he drinks red tea which is called Bo lie in Cantonese as it is good for health.

The longer you keep red leaf tea the more expensive it becomes. My father bought £10,000 of red leaf tea and will keep it for 10 to 20 years, then resell it.

To make really good tea; you buy a tea pot made in a place called Xi Ying in China. You buy a pot normally suitable for one person.

Put some Chinese leaves inside tea pot and pour boiling water in but you can’t drink this right away as you need to wash off the leaves. The water is again poured into the cup to rinse the leaves and get the smell. The next time you put the water into the pot the tea is ready for drinking.

In China we think Chinese tea can help digestion in the body. It will help you take off calories and fat from your body. My parents drink tea first thing in the morning then all day long. My father said tea is produced in North rather than South of China.

All Chinese people love Chinese tea. It has become a class thing, enjoying it at a Tea House where they sell expensive tea.

Cups are a bit different from British cups as they are a very small cup about 2 cm high. You put a little bit of tea in your cup to enjoy rather than to drink when thirsty.

I find it difficult to buy nice Chinese cups and tea pots here. In China we look for the best quality. The tea pot I use at home was sent over by my parents from China to use here.

In China some elderly people, they do not use a tea cup, they just carry their own tea pot everywhere with them and drink directly from the pot.”

Asian Connections Book