I was thinking of searching for an article on the internet on the chinese art of tea drinking, because I can hardly remember the things my grandfather taught me. But that would not be authentic nor honest if I do that. My grandfather would not be proud if I did that. As he would say, "You must be proud of your roots."
My grandfather was a tea merchant from China. Over the course of his life, he had been a merchant trading in all sorts of things, but his passion was chinese tea. Towards his senior years, he finally decided to open a tea shop in Chinatown, I was about ten or eleven I remember. He ran the little shop with his second wife and hired two other elderly persons.
I remember that tea shop in Chinatown. Chinatown is historically preserved in Singapore, it is one of the oldest areas in Singapore. The shop houses are in rows and they are two or three storeys high usually. The interior is spacious, but the upstairs was a bit dark and creepy. The shop was located on the ground floor and the second floor served as storage space.
Grandfather was always the serious sort, he was never the sort of granddad who bounced his grandchildren on his knee or tell them nice stories or give them candy. If you visit him at his house, he would sit on his chair (like it was a grand throne) , gaze at you and his words would be like that of a king. He was an old fashioned man, very traditional in every way. He had plans for his grandchildren, especially his direct decendants carrying the family name. He had this idea that he wanted me and my cousin (son of his second son) to take over the tea shop after he pass on.
And so, on school holidays, my parents would being me down to grandfather's shop, and I would spend a day there with my grandparents. Grandfather never said much, except that he nodded and said that he was please to see me.
Grandfather sells a variety of chinese tea in roasted leaves form. There was red tea like Tie Quan Inn and green tea like Oolong and other sorts of varieties. They were kept in great metal boxes. The leaves arrive green and are roasted to condition slowly. The great big oven is in the back of the shop. I remember we use to sit down with the shop hands and help them pick out the imperfect leaves after the tea has been roasted. I can still remember the frangrance of the tea leaves.
Then after that, I would watch the shop hands pack the tea leaves in paper. They would weight it and then pack it.
Grandfather not only sells tea but also chinese tea sets. There are mainly two types that I can remember - porcellin and red clay. I am always of the opinion that red clay is better somehow and retains the taste of the tea better. My grandfather likes to use clay tea sets and so does my father.
A basic tea set consists of a small pot, four little cups and a tray.
In the afternoon, grandfather would sometimes gather us for tea if there are no customers about. He would boil the water and let it cool a bit, because you would never use boiling water to make tea. He pour the hot water over the cups and tea pot as if to rinse them. Then he would add pinch of tea leaves into the tiny pot, pour hot water into that and then pour it out. The first is not served. This gets rid of silts and the tea will be clear when served. If I recall correctly, you would also wash the cups with the tea.
More hot water into the pot, then a little while, pour the tea out to all four cups. Tea is only filled to about half way, it should not be full and brimming. Upon invitation, one would pick up a cup and before drinking, smell the tea. Give it a good long sniff and enjoy the fragrance, strong or mild depending on the kind of tea used. Then drink the tea, sip it if you like, taste it and drink it all before you put down the cup. The cup is tiny, so it holds about a little less than a mouth full anyway. When you've done that, sniff the cup and then put it back down for another serving.
(If I don't remember correctly the way to serve tea, I definetly remember how to drink it.)
I like watching tourist walking bravely into the old chinese style shop, looking around and my grandfather would walk up to them and greet them. My grandfather speaks perfect English, and he would explain to them the various sorts of tea, what they were good for and then ask them what they would like. Like wine, certain teas are best suited for certain occassions and various sorts have different taste, some stronger, some more mild, some are wake-u-uppers and some are relaxants. I remember the tourist were usually impressed and no one ever walks out of his shop empty handed.
The tea is reasonably priced, but there are expensive varieties as well. Grandfather would never press those to someone new to chinese tea drinking because they may not appreciate or like the taste of those. And he was always willing to sit down with customers, make tea for them and let them have a feel of art of chinese tea drinking.
Looking back now, I wish I paid more attention. But I was a kid who had no interest in these old arts. Moreover, I was not very close to my grandfather. He died a few years later, at 79, of heart complications. I remember not even wanting to go the "boring tea shop". The tea shop has since closed, for his second wife was also getting on with age and has become senile after grandfather had passed on. I certainly would never want to be the one to take over the running of the tea shop, but I regret only that I never learned more of my grandfather's art.