Etymology
30 years after the first industrial import of 143 kilos of tea, Britain setup her first tea purchasing for office (recognized in the mean time as manufacturing facility) in Canton (recognized now as Guangzhou) in 1699. That exact same 12 months, John Ovington, Chaplain to King William III wrote of various tea picks obtainable in England, “The first Type is ‘Bohea’… These in China which is perhaps sick, or are very cautious of preserving their Properly being, in the event that they’re weak, confine themselves solely to this Type of tea…” (1). He then went on to described completely different teas, which had been all inexperienced.
The “13 Factories” in Guangzhou the place shopping for and promoting nations organize their workplaces and the Chinese language language authorities saved a watchful eye on the foreigners’ movement. The scenario is reverse of present day Shamian district.
Far prime: Tea Packing in Guangzhou, component of an export painting circa 1820~40.
Uncover how top quality affords method to income margin to have the tea stamped upon by foot in order to pack tightly for cargo. (Be taught further about coping with and storage) Inside the foreground, a Westerner, very extra more likely to be English, negotiate with a Chinese language language.
Curiously, in China, Wuyi oolong was considered a safe tea for the weak and the aged and was used to take care of minor sicknesses (nonetheless did after I used to be very youthful) in Fujian and Guangdong. Wuyi was spelled as Bohea, which was a transliteration of the Amoy dialect for the same Chinese language language phrases as Wuyi. The Chinese language language title that the phrase “oolong” is translated from — wu-long — really means “black dragon”; the tea which the West now refers to as black tea has on a regular basis been known as “crimson tea” inside the Far East.
Various years earlier to Ovington’s assertion, a tea advocate and Buddhist monk by the title of Zhao Quan wrote in A Wuyi Tea Tune, “Ships from the West come proper right here (Amoy) yearly to buy this tea… so Anxi tea is made to the look of Wuyi tea, roasted sooner than it is baked. The two teas grow to be simply concerning the similar.” (2) This clearly signifies a tea produced through the oolong course of. The black tea that the West imported in lately was Wuyi vogue oolong considerably than the crimson tea (3) that was however to invent. Anxi, even to at the moment, has not typically involved in crimson tea manufacturing. When crimson teas passed off inside the following century, had been grouped as black teas by the West merely as a result of identical darkish colour similar to the oolong tealeaves of Wuyi.
a obscurred beginning
- Rougui, aka Cassia 肉桂, a Wuyi 武夷 oolong. 20049, 2007 | 8966
- Tangyang Gongfu: To the west of Zhenghe and all the easiest way to, and along with Wuyi, are fairly a couple of areas that had been a couple of of the primary manufacturing bases for export teas. Tanyang Gongfu is produced proper right here with cultivars utterly utterly completely different from the Dai’bai strands. The traditional Xiaozhong strands produce teas which is perhaps clear, pretty prolonged and tinkling. Newer cultivars which is perhaps launched from Yunnan, that is, strands from the Camellia assamica choice, produce teas which is perhaps stronger nonetheless a lot easier in type. Possibly for productiveness causes, the latter is now rather more popularly used for producing Tanyang Gongfu.This alternative this is a grade 2, and higher than a 12 months outdated. Newer ones seems glossier and magnificence freshers too.
Bohea continued to be the “black tea” consumed by the West until mid 18th century, when names as Congou (aka Gongfu) and Souchong began to seem in retailer menus and family accounts in London. These are names associated further with crimson teas. In 1732, the county governor of Chongon (that Wuyi was in) wrote in thought-about one among his revealed diaries (4), “By the tip of the ninth bend (of the river, which is the river that runs through Wuyi) inside the mountain, there is a village named Xing Cun (Star Village) the place tea retailers come collectively. Some are from out of county… along with from Guangxin (5) in Jiangxi Province, carrying with them their productions, a tea that is black nonetheless with crimson infusion. They title it Jiangxi Wu. They promote their merchandise to native wholesalers in private.” That’s more than likely the first reliable mentioning of the existence of crimson tea. Xing Cun was a wholesale centre for tea retailers who commerce with tea hongs, the export companies. It was seemingly that gongfu and souchong varieties had been each different localized variations of this Jiangxi Wu or they’d been simultaneous enhancements. It could be induced that crimson tea was more than likely invented sometime sooner than 1732 on this or a neighbouring house.