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Tech & Tea
A t the beginning of time there was no specific tea set to serve tea, what
we used to drink tea from was just a pot. Not until middle Tang Dy-
nasty utensils started being developed for tea drinking. With the tea
drinking evolution, the tea set developed from simple utensils suitable
for boiling tea, whisking tea and brewing tea to a whole set dedicated to fully
enjoy Gongfu Tea. I still remember what one of the professors in our school was
talking about during one of tealeaves seminars: “It is very interesting that stu-
dents in our tea ceremony team can professionally perform traditional tea art
show to make Chinese tea culture well known everywhere, but, in the meanwhile,
in every day life they drink milky tea.” Thanks to the young people, who love
tea, know how to enjoy life, constantly promote tea drinking and set new trends
in it, tea culture can constantly evolve.
Age of Patience
Lu Yu might be the first person recorded in the history to separate tea utensils
from the rest of kitchenware. He even designed a brazier for starting fire and a
cauldron for boiling water. Boiling tea was very popular in Tang Dynasty. At that
time, tea set was a cauldron set up on top of a brazier. While the water was boiling,
they used to put crushed tealeaves and let them boil for a while, then they would
pour it to a bowl for drinking. During Song Dynasty, boiled tea’s popularity was
taken by whisked tea (boiled with tea powder). The way of preparing tea in Song
Dynasty was not only boiling, but also whipping to create foam on top of the drink.
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