J-emine's reflexionando

The gf is a huge fan of Chinese tea – to the extent she spends her weekends reading up on tea history, the processing, consumptions base on season and food etc. Basically, a walking tea-encyclopedia. So there was simply no getting away from spending sometime in a quaint tea house with her this time around. Don’t get me wrong, I love Chinese tea with a strong penchant for tea with strong, earthly taste such as Pu-Erh as to the lighter taste of Long Jing or Bi Lu Chun.

However from this trip, I came back with a Chinese tea craze of begging Dad endlessly to bring out his tea utensils and collection of Pu-Erh, that he’s painstakingly acquired over the years. Top that off, I’ve been begging the bestie to attend a tea appreciation class with me – which I’ve yet gotten her nod of approval.

Anyways, the gf sought out Family Fu’s Teahouse in Houhai for us to check out. Pity, we got there in the late afternoon and the weather was pretty cloudy (and foggy) for us to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful surrounding of willowy trees, lake and all of Houhai’s beauty (the teahouse is located on the south bank and a good distance away from the bar street).

We spent a good 45 mins there sipping on our selected tea – “Gong Ting” (referring to the best gifted tea to the imperial court) Pu-Erh for me and Long Jing for the gf, along with the tea came an inviting tray of local snacks to go along with the tea. One of the attendant gave us (well, actually me) the lowdown of using the utensils and sharing with me that it’s a must
to drench the Pu–Erh leaves twice in hot water before consumption.

It would have been nice, if we had more time to spend there or better yet, visited the place in the afternoon to soak in the ambiance and culture of drinking Chinese tea. I’m most definitely looking forward to my next trip back to a tea house in China.

Leaving you with a quote that I read off weibo:

清香是它的馈赠。人生就像一杯茶，不能苦一辈子，但要苦一阵子。人生就像一杯茶。第一口苦，第二口涩，第三口甜。回味一下，甘甜清香。在品茶中思索，在品茶中感悟，在品茶中成长