Source: China News Network
China News Network Yinchuan, January 16 Title: Visiting Ningxia Canned Tea House: Talking and Laughing to Feel the Northwest Tea Culture
China News Network reporter Yang Di
When it comes to tea houses, people's first impression is often "quiet", but in Ningxia, China's northwestern province, there is a can tea house, showing a unique northwest tea culture.
Recently, a reporter from China News Network visited the Ma Yixin Jar Tea House in Yinchuan, Ningxia, to feel the northwest tea culture full of fireworks.
Walking into the can tea house, you will be greeted by a red lantern with a northwest dialect written on it. In the tea house, the Qin Cavity singing section is played in a loop, and the customers pour the tea leaves into the jar to cook, the heat is steaming, talking and laughing, and the voices of the people are boiling, a lively scene.
The jar teahouse is full of people and fireworks. Photo by Yang Di
In fact, canned tea is not tea, but a popular way of drinking tea in shaanxi, Gansu and parts of Ningxia. "In the countryside of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia, the people have the habit of drinking morning tea, and when the older generation wakes up every morning, they will pour the tea into the jar, put it on the stove and cook it, and eat it early." Ma Yixin, the founder of this can tea house, told China News Network that this way of drinking tea is called "canned tea" because of the use of tea cans to cook tea leaves.
Born in the southern mountains of Ningxia, Ma Yixin, out of love for the tea culture of her hometown, in the winter of 2021, she opened a can tea house in Yinchuan, Ningxia, dedicated to promoting the tea culture of northwest China.
In Ma Yixin's view, canned tea is a very "urban" way of drinking tea. "There are no 'rules' that must be followed when drinking cans of tea, in addition to tea, customers can also add dates, cinnamon balls, raisins, goji berries, rose sauce and other ingredients to their liking." Ma Yixin said that the price of canned tea is also very close to the people, spend more than ten yuan to drink a cup of canned tea, you can spend a warm winter afternoon.
Cook cans of tea. Photo by Yang Di
Unlike the traditional "brewing tea", canned tea uses the method of "boiling tea". The tea leaves, ingredients and water are poured into copper pots and cooked on an electric stove, steaming hot and fragrant. In order to show the characteristics of the Great Northwest, the decoration of the tea house is also very elaborate: the walls are painted with murals showing the life of the Northwest, hanging corn, dried peppers and other common crops in the northwest countryside, and the classic Qin cavity singing segment is played on the radio, and the customers talk and laugh in between, showing the pride of the Northwest.
In the can tea house, there is no "private room" and "private seat", and when there are many people, they also have to "share the table", which often becomes an excellent way to break the barrier between people. "In my shop, many strangers have become friends with each other over a pot of tea." Ma Yixin laughed.
Nowadays, the traditional Northwest tea drinking culture and way of can tea is also understood and accepted by more young people, and there is no shortage of young faces in the Ma Yixin can tea house. "In the future, I hope to promote the canned tea full of pyrotechnic gas to more regions, so that more people can experience and like the unique canned tea culture in the northwest." Ma Yixin said. (End)