five for tea

We were all a bit chilled after walking in the garden, so Kevin suggested that we go to a tea house that offered instruction on Chinese tea drinking. It sounded like a good cultural experience as well as warm so we agreed.

And it was quite enjoyable. None of us had realized that the Chinese tea had so many proper steps. Our tea instructor informed us which teas should be prepared with boiling water (ginseng) and which should not (dragonwell--will kill the healthy nutrients) as well as the health benefits of each variety (lychee-puer helps weight loss, ginseng for energy).

Here are steps to properly drink Chinese tea:
1)The tea is presented to you in a smelling cup with the drinking cup covering it.
2)Very carefully, flip the this over so that the tea empties into the drinking cup without spilling.
3) Dip the top edge of your smelling cup into the tea. Then in a circular motion, rub the edge of your smelling cup with the edge of your drinking cup.

3) Smell the aroma in your smelling cup. Nice, right?
4)Now, delicately sip your tea. Ah, delicious!