What does tea culture mean? Where does fighting tea come from?
Fighting tea, also known as "fighting tea" and "fighting tea", is an "elegant play" of ancient rich and leisure culture. That is, the significance of tea quality competition is one of the traditional folk customs in Huizhou. Doucha began in the Tang Dynasty and was founded in Huizhou, Guangdong. It is also called tribute tea in Jianzhou Tea Town, Fujian Province.
Tea fighting is a better tea activity for tea farmers and tea people every spring after new tea is made. The victory or defeat of a tea contest, like the victory or defeat of a ball game, has attracted the attention of many tea farmers and tea people. Tang dynasty called it "fighting tea" and Song dynasty called it "fighting tea", both of which had strong national color.
By the Northern Song Dynasty, "fighting tea" had become a folk custom in Huizhou, as evidenced by Dongpo's poems. Dongpo traveled to Luofu and tasted Jingtai Zen master Zhuo Xiquan. He wrote "Notes" and said: "Only the Hui people outside the ridge like to compete for tea. This water is glad you came!" This custom prevailed in Huicheng until the Republic of China.
Tea fighting is developed on the basis of tea tasting. Tea tasting is also called tea tasting. The host invited three or five confidants to put the brewed tea in a small teacup the size of a small cup and savor it like a drink. Fighting tea is different. Fighting, Huizhou dialect has the meaning of fighting, and it also means to be brave in winning in fighting. At that time, a highly educated private school teacher used "the quality of baskets is better than that of baskets" to summarize the significance of fighting tea.
People who take part in the tea fight should take out their own famous teas and take turns tasting them to decide the outcome. The contents of the competition include the color and aroma of tea, the mellow degree of tea soup, the advantages and disadvantages of tea sets, the priority of boiling water and so on. Tea fighting must be evaluated collectively, and the winner is the one who is best prepared.
Generally, the places where tea fights are mostly large-scale tea shops. Most of these shops are divided into front and back floors, and the front hall is spacious and is a storefront; The back hall is small and there is a small kitchen-it's easy to make tea. Some also have rooms, and the boss's family lives in them. Of course, there are also neighbors and workers who have a special liking for this. Several people get together to talk about tea ceremony and fight. Some families have elegant inner rooms or ancient courtyards with sparse flowers and trees, or their homes are near the river and the west lake, which are all good places to fight tea.
Tea fighting is mostly held in Tomb-Sweeping Day, so when new tea comes out, it is most suitable for tea fighting. The participants in the Tea Bucket are all tea lovers in a free combination, ranging from more than a dozen to as few as five or six. There were many neighbors watching while fighting for tea. If there is a fight in a tea shop, the owners or clerks of nearby shops will take turns to join in the fun, especially the customers who want to buy tea at that time.