Miss C was thinking about a question lately: What exactly is Earl's Tea? Why did she suddenly think about this question, the reason is that she recently sent a circle of friends, and her friend Miss H left a message for her.
West Lake Longjing
A few days ago, Miss C's customer gave her a box of West Lake Longjing, the taste is really great, Miss C took a photo and sent a pot of friends to praise the tea is delicious, Miss H saw it and left a message below: Next time I send you some Earl tea to taste... Tastes better than Longjing.
Miss H is Miss C's college classmate, her personality is not bad, her academic performance is good, her skin is white and beautiful, her legs are long, and her family also has money, but perhaps because of this, she always has a sense of superiority, Miss C is a little envious of her, a little admired, and a little respectful.
Upon graduation, Miss H immigrated to the UK with her family. So just contact us occasionally on WeChat.
As a Miss C who has never stepped out of the country since growing up under the red flag, the word "Earl Tea" is a bit strange, and Miss C is very curious about what Earl Tea is all about? But in line with the principle of "we don't know we don't dare to ask", Miss C did not look for Miss H to popularize science, well, in fact, Miss C did not want to expose her ignorance and lack of insight before she secretly found Du Niang.
So, what exactly is Earl's Tea?
English Earl's Tea
Earl tea is a mixed tea drink, its main ingredient is bergamot + black tea, deeply loved by The European high society, so, to some extent, Earl tea can also be regarded as a small element of status symbols, representing elegance and petty bourgeoisie.
You know, in the beverage industry, there is also a chain of contempt, just like drinking coffee, after Star Daddy entered the Chinese market, he once occupied the top of the chain of contempt, ordered a cup of cappuccino, and then took the cup to send a circle of friends, which became the most compelling behavior.
So is drinking English Earl's Tea really pushed high? Higher than drinking Chinese-style Longjing tea?
In fact, tea culture has a long history. Although Earl Grey is a foreign name, its origin is in China.
Legend has it that during the Victorian period, foreign envoys visited China, learned an ancient black tea blending method, and after returning to China, taught it to a boss who sold black tea, and improved it to become today's Earl's tea. Based on Chinese black tea, it is served with smoked bergamot.
Different stores are paired with a little different recipes, such as essential oils, herbs, spices, etc., to change the taste of different. Many guests also like to add milk to Earl's Tea, paired with pastries, and enjoy it as afternoon tea.
In China's tea drinking industry, green tea has always been the mainstream. West Lake Longjing, Xinyang Maojian, Dongting Biluochun and so on. Black tea is relatively less popular than green tea. Among the green teas, Longjing is the most compelling. It often appears in the emperor's imperial study in costume dramas.
Earl's tea is an English aristocratic tea, and Longjing is a Chinese royal tea. So is the compulsion of Earl's tea really higher than that of Longjing?
Let's try to analyze it from a historical point of view.
China is an ancient country with a history and culture of 5,000 years, once proud of the world, enshrined as a heavenly dynasty, accepting pilgrimages from all directions. After the Second Industrial Revolution, Britain rose rapidly and became the "Empire of the Sun Never Sets". Due to its blind arrogance, closed-door country, China is gradually declining, and once it was bullied, ceded land, and reduced to a semi-colonial country.
In such a historical background, the status has undergone a great reversal, the once brilliant is no longer there, and it seems that the status of the royal tea drink is no longer there.
But now that China has risen again and is proud of the East, where should the status of Chinese tea drink be?
China is the birthplace of tea, there are six major types of tea, rich tea culture, from a cultural point of view is undoubtedly the world's first. However, according to comprehensive official data, China's tea exports are far less than domestic sales, and the status and influence of exports in the world are very limited. The main reasons for this are as follows:
1. Export quality standards are insufficient. Mainly pesticide residues.
2. Differences in tea drinking concepts in the international community. Foreigners don't care much about tea culture and prefer coffee.
3. There is no well-known tea brand, and the publicity cannot keep up.
However, because of this, is the compulsion to drink Earl's tea higher than that of Longjing? Isn't it because of the psychology of admiration and flattery?
What do you think?