07 March 2006

The Tea Shoppe in Shanghai

This is a place where traditional Chinese tea is sold. Teas of various types are found in these bundles including high quality types.

Bundles of tea of various types line the shelves. These circular bundles are tea leaves pressed into a cake form.

Later, some of these bundles are then repackaged into the familiar boxes and round containers as seen here.

A huge block of low grade tea leaves. A cup full of tea leaves is easily extracted. These are then put in a porcelain container where one pours boiling water. A few washes later, several cups can be extracted and drunk. The colour is a light to moderate yellow. The smell is distinctive and strong.


Yet more bundles of Chinese tea. Chinese tea is distinctively different from English tea. It is drunk as it is, without the accompaniment of sugar or milk. On a final note, I do sell Chinese tea wholesale. Thus, if you to purchase some, you can drop me an email.

5 comments:

Alicia said...

my cousin used to tell me that their tea is diff and much nicer.. izzit true ? tried ady ma?

steve said...

Wow--what an amazing looking place to visit! Lucky guy.

Mister Nizz said...

Great post!

I love the notion of low or no packaging-- tea sold in bulk and stored in cannisters and whatnot when it gets home. Very environmentally friendly-- I wish the US followed this path.

I like strong, black teas like Lapsang Souchang myself, but also the lighter green tea

Walt

Anonymous said...

I like green tea.

Chuang Shyue Chou said...

Alicia,I'm afraid that I don't appreciate tea. I did try the best tea at the tea place but it did not an impression on me. There is apparently a way of appreciating it.

Steve, it was indeed a privilege. I had several guides in Shanghai.

Hi Walt, they are sold in small containers and packages. Not unlike Starbucks and other commercially available tea of other types. The stuff you see here is still in its wholesale form. I think you can buy it in this form but it is probably not easily available. Secondly, I heard that only one type of Chinese tea is better when aged. The others are perishable (ie expiry date). You are probably a lot more versed in Chinese tea than I am. Heh. There are many types but....