The Chinese take their tea seriously. No doubt about that. Everyone, from taxi driver to company president, drinks tea everyday, all day long. Tea is consumed in liters; cups upon cups of the lovely, steaming, fragrant stuff. But any Chinese tea expert knows that much of the action and excitement takes place even before the first heavenly sip. A true tea aficionado knows there is much more to tea than simply sloshing hot water over leaves. Details such as brewing time, water temperature, types of tea pots and cups are all important to the final product. And that's after tea growers and buyers have agonized over growing, fermenting and blending the leaves.
      Tea is to the Chinese as wine to the French, beer to Germans, cigars to Cubans.

TEAHOUSE REVIVAL
Even in the midst of its busy location, the Beijing Wuyutai Tea Store stands out. Though the old-Beijing exterior is a recent concoction, the teahouse has a history that stretches back over a hundred years.
      Founded in 1887 during the Qing dynasty, the Wuyutai Teashop started as a tea stand. Since then, it has undergone several transitions and identities, but always at the same location in Beijing's Dongcheng district. To some extent, the history of the teahouse reflects the numerous ups and downs of contemporary Chinese history. Originally privately-owned, the teashop was taken over by the state in the 1956. During the cultural revolution, the teahouse was known as the Red Day Teashop, reclaiming its original name only in 1985. Then in 1994, the teashop underwent an important renovation. Manager Jin Yali evaluates, "before the renovations, we were just like any other teashop in Beijing, but afterwards our business grew rapidly." Today, the teahouse, still under state-ownership, is flourishing. With the renovations, the teashop got a traditional look and soon afterwards a tea room was added on.
      The current revival in tea culture and teahouses is a healthy sign of richer populace. During the difficult times of the Great Leap Forward, plain water was sometimes called "white tea." Nowadays, however, people want and expect more in life; they are no longer happy with just water.
      This revival can also be interpreted as an increasing interest in traditional Chinese culture. While tea to Beijingers was never quite the obsession that it was for their southern cousins, tea houses were still quite popular in the city before the revolution. Since the Wuyutai Teashop added its tea room, it has seen an influx of customers who come just to savor the tea, sit and relax. And unlike in the days of old Beijing when teahouses were mainly the habitats of old men with their caged birds, teahouses these days are popular with many young people, particularly students who want a quiet place to study and think. Businessmen and amorous couples also find reprieve in teahouses and of course, there are still the old men.

ASK THE EXPERT
      In Tea is offered, of course, first off. Jin is happy with her lot in life. An artisan of sorts, she seemingly relishes every aspect of the business. She started at the Wuyutai teashop in 1970 right after finishing middle school. Singled out by an old master of teas, Jin owes much to her former mentor who taught her all the knows of the art and business of Chinese tea. Under her teacher's instruction, Jin learned how to distinguish the numerous distinctions amongst various teas and equally important, how to blend the various qualities and tastes of different leaves together.
      Any one of the teas that you might buy at a teashop are in fact made of a blend of some seven or eight leaves. Leaves grown in different parts of the country have distinctive personalities. Leaves from Fujian province, for example, are known to be more fragrant, Anhui leaves are favored for their pure flavor, Guangxi leaves leave behind a certain bitterness, and Zhejiang leaves for its tastiness. Prices of tea leaves can range from ´50 upwards towards ´500 per jin. A tea master must take into consideration taste, appearance and price when blending teas. Needless to say, putting together a fine tea is not an easy task, but one that requires years of experience.

CULTURAL STEEPINGS
      Tea is not only an inescapable part of daily Chinese life, but an important part of Chinese culture as well. The origins of tea drinking in China has been the study of many a scholar and the theories expounded on it are numerous. Whatever the case, it would be a safe bet to hedge that tea has been consumed in China for roughly 5,000 years. With such a long tradition, it's not at all surprising that the folklore and customs that surround tea, its preparation and consumption are rich and elaborate.
      Most obvious, tea is an excellent thirst quencher. But any Chinese person knows it also stimulates the appetite and helps digestion. Tea cleans out your insides and has about a dozen additional medicinal attributes. Many would tout that there's nothing like a cup of tea to settle the stomach after a night of excess. And of course, there's also the caffeine that's most present in Oolong tea. There are also more outrageous claims ranging from "facilitate the flow of urine" to "prevent cell mutation and act as an anti-carcinogen." But most people just like tea because it's refreshing.
      Various teas have their special attributes. Green tea, the preferred daily drink of Anhui and Nanjing residents, can qu huo or calm the inner fire in the body. Beijingers prefer to drinkHua cha, flower tea, which is said to aid digestion. Oolong tea, a Canton and Fujian favorite, is an even stronger digestion aid. And black teas, the usual for most lao wai, foreigners, is sometimes said to be cooling.

THE CEREMONY
      While tea culture has regional differences, it has reached its highest heights in Taiwan and Fujian province, where tea cultivation has been the livelihood of numerous tea growers for eons. This is also the origin of the elaborate tea pouring "ceremony." Miss Du at the Wuyutai Teashop demonstrates. First she presents a tray holding no less than ten items, all of which she carefully introduces. Next she goes about the complicated business of preparing Oolong tea, which requires an initial rinsing of utensils and then two steepings. The tiny teacups are used exclusively for sipping. Once properly steeped, the tea is first poured into a high, narrow cup called the holding cup or sniffer cup. From this cup, the tea is poured into the tiny teacup. The aroma left behind in the sniffer cup is meant for you to sniff and enjoy.
      For all its cultivated elaborateness, tea ceremonies represent only the apex. Just imagine a taxi driver trying to pour all those little clay containers while in his cab. Tea is drink for the masses and is meant to be enjoyed in numerous shapes and forms.
      Taiwan is not only home of many traditional tea cermonies, but also a leader in new trends. A new crop of teahouses are now popping up in major Chinese cities. Nontraditional, this new generation of teahouses are far more likely to play Faye Wong's new album than tradtional erhu music and probably won't catch any

THE DRINK OF THE MASSES
      While attending a ceremony for model workers in the city, Manager Jin beamed in the flurry of questions with which everyone peppered her . "What kind of tea is best to drink in winter?" "How long should I brew Oolong tea?" As a seasoned artisan of the trade, she can talk erudite details with the best of them, but at the same time she has a common connection with any stranger who drinks and appreciates tea.
      And of course there's the most obvious drawing point; it just tastes good.