Tea drinking is a kind of folk culture, Cao Xueqin uses raw flowers to condense tea culture in "Dream of the Red Chamber", showing the charm of tea culture and colorful famous tea items, opening a window for hundreds of millions of readers to understand ancient Chinese tea.
In the "Dream of the Red Chamber" of yangyang Grand View, there are many famous teas described, just like a "Qing Dynasty tribute tea record". There are Siamese tea (the old name of Thailand) tribute, jasmine tea produced in Fuzhou, Fujian province and Tuan cake tea "Phoenix Marrow" produced in Fujian Jian'an, Pu'er tea and precious daughter tea in Pu'er tea that local officials of the Qing Dynasty paid tribute to the royal family, There are Junshan silver needles listed as tributes in the Qing Dynasty, 18 pounds of tribute per year, Longjing tea in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, as well as Lu'an tea and maple dew tea.
Siamese tea is produced in present-day south-central Thailand and is said to be a bit bitter. In the twenty-fifth time in the novel, Feng Jie sends Siamese tea to Baoyu, Daiyu, and Baochao, and Baochao says that it "tastes light, but the color is not good." In the forty-first time, "Baoyu ate it carefully, and his fruit was frivolous and admired."
【Jasmine fragrant pieces】Also known as jasmine tea, produced in Fuzhou, is a unique tea in China. Jasmine tea aroma is mellow, the taste is strong and resistant to bubbles, the people of Beijing are generally accustomed to drinking this tea, collectively known as "incense tablets", this habit has been formed at least in the Qing Dynasty, because the daily life written in "Dream of the Red Chamber" often drinks jasmine fragrant tablets, pay attention to wine and rice full pot flower tea, pay attention to boiling water tea, pay attention to brewing well and then drink for a while and so on. In the eyes of the Jiangnan tea townspeople, this is a bit like a layman eating tea, and this is exactly what is described in "Dream of the Red Chamber". For example, the eighth time it is written that Bao Yu drank the "incense pieces" of drunkenness after eating wine at Aunt Xue's house: "After making sour bamboo shoot chicken skin soup, Bao Yu drank several bowls of bitter soup, and ate half a bowl of multi-bi terrier porridge, and at one time Xue Lin and the two also finished eating, and drank a few bowls of tea..." This is the habit of Beijingers to drink incense chips.
【Lu'an tea】 is produced in The Dabie Mountains of western Anhui Province in the areas of Lu'an, Jinzhai and Huoshan in Anhui Province. Lu'an tea has a long history, the Song Dynasty produced Lu'an Dragon Bud, and the Ming Dynasty produced Small Four Da Nang Spring, Mao Jian, melon slice tea leaves. Due to the steep mountains, many clouds, high humidity, coupled with exquisite stir-frying, excellent tea quality, mellow aroma, ancient Chinese medicine, good medicinal effect, and listed as a tribute, is a famous green tea variety in China. In the forty-first episode of the novel, Jia Mu goes to Li Cui'an, "Only to see Miao Yu personally holding a small tea tray with begonia carved lacquer filled with golden yunlong offerings, and placing a small multicolored lid bell in it, holding Jia Mu..." Jia Mu said, "I don't eat Lu'an tea." Why not eat? This may be a habit of life, when Beijing people used to drink black tea, flower tea, especially Jia Mu after eating wine and greasy, afraid of stopping eating, not to mention drinking green tea.
In the forty-first episode of "Dream of the Red Chamber," after Jia Mu said that she would not eat Lu'an tea, Miao Yu said, "This is Lao Junmei." Lao Junmei, produced in the heart of Dongting Lake in Yueyang City, Hunan, Junshan Island, also known as Junshan Silver Needle Tea, it is all made of fat and tender buds without leaves, the aroma is high, shaped like a long eyebrow, so it is called Lao Junmei. It is said that Lao Junmei had made tribute in the Tang Dynasty, and the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty was particularly fond of drinking, stipulating that eighteen catties of tribute should be paid every year, and in the early spring, the local officials supervised the production, and each pound of tribute tea cost two thousand dollars. Miao Yu bubbled Old Junmei with the rainwater of the old year, "Jia Mu ate half a cup, smiled and handed it to Grandma Liu, saying that you taste this tea." Grandma Liu ate it all and smiled: "Good is good, it is lighter, and it is better to boil it thicker." Everyone laughed."
【Pu'er Tea】 In the era of "Dream of the Red Chamber", the home of the nobles of Beijing paid great attention to drinking Pu'er tea, and the sixty-third time "Shouyi Hongqunfang Opened the Night Feast", and the tea of Lin Zhixiao's family arrived at Yihong Courtyard. Bao Yu smiled and said, "What Mom said is... Today, because I ate noodles, I was afraid of stopping eating, so I played more. Lin Zhixiao's family smiled at the attackers and said, "You should drink some Pu'er tea." Pu'er tea, produced in the southern Yunnan pu'er, Simao, Xishuangbanna area, steamed into a full moon cake tea. Pu'er tea is rich and fragrant, mild in tea, remarkable in medicinal effect, unchanged for a long time, and loved by people. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" says that it "consumes phlegm, clears the stomach and vitality, and works especially well", so lin zhixiao's family should take care of Baoyu to drink.
【Daughter Tea】 The sixty-third time in "Dream of the Red Chamber" describes the care of Lin Zhixiao's family to give Baoyu to drink Pu'er tea to consume, and the two of them are busy saying: "I have smothered a tea jar of daughter tea, and I have already drunk two bowls." The eldest lady also tasted a bowl, all ready-made. "Daughter tea is the "Pu'er female tea" in the Yunnan tribute, and the "Yunnan New Language" says: "Pu (Erh) tea treasures have mao tip, the daughter's number."
【Longjing Tea】 In the eighty-third time in "Dream of the Red Chamber", Baoyu went to Xiaoxiang Hall to see Daiyu, and Daiyu told Zi Juan to "brew a bowl of my Longjing tea for the second master". Longjing tea is produced in the area of Longjing Village in West Lake, Hangzhou, so it is named Longjing tea. The ancients said: "Longjing tea, the true sweet and fragrant, sipping indifferently, seemingly tasteless, after drinking, feel a kind of harmony, between the teeth and cheeks." Longjing tea is famous for its green color, fragrant, mellow taste and beautiful shape, and has been used as a tribute since the Song Dynasty, which is the best in China's green tea.