Tea is an important part of Chinese tradition. It is not simply drinking of tea, but it is more like a culture and art and even on the same level as Taoism. Tea art is both a kind of tea brewing skills and a philosophy of life. By drinking tea, it cannot only refresh your mind and thoughts, but also keep you healthy and foster harmony between people. The main varieties of Chinese tea are classified as black tea, white tea, dark tea, green tea, yellow tea and Oolong tea. The tea making process is different, and therefore the tea brewing process is different. The amount of tea, the water temperature of the tea, and the time of brewing are decisive for the physical quality of a cup of tea. The atmosphere of tasting tea is created by various factors such as tea selection, water selection, tea brewing skills, teaware selection and the ambiance. Therefore, tea is a combination of Chinese people’s conception of nature and their own experience, and it is also the contemporary art.

The fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar is the traditional Chinese festival, which is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Eating moon cakes, admiring the moon, and lanterns are all traditional customs, among them, the tea is indispensable. On the moment, where the Mid-Autumn Festival has been recorded in history, the ceremony of drinking tea has been accompanied until today. In some places in China, there are still the custom of worshiping the Moon God during the Mid-Autumn Festival. People use tea to worship the Moon God because they think that tea is a holy and pure thing, therefore they use tea to show respect to the Moon God.

“I raise my glass to invite the moon, forming my shadow of three.” Since the Han Dynasty, literati liked to invite friends and make tea together under the moon. The scent of tea lingers, the shadow of the moon is like an illusion, people are reciting poems, proposing a toast and drinking together. There are always endless thoughts, and there is always a beautiful moon. Until the Song Dynasty, Su Shi’s phrase of ”Wish you a long life to share the beauty of this graceful moonlight, even thousands of miles apart.” has let people from all over the country raise their heads to admire the full moon on the every Mid-Autumn Festival.

Moon cakes are essential for the Mid-Autumn Festival, but for the elders and children, they can be too greasy. Blood pressure, blood lipids, cholesterol, etc. are all considerations when eating moon cakes. When eating moon cakes, add a pot of tea to relieve greasy and oil. Tea is always poetic, and tea tasting pays more attention to artistic conception. Enjoy the moon, poems and tea on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

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