Growing up in a Cantonese household where dim sum was often eaten, I had been exposed to many different types of Chinese teas – jasmine, green, black, pu’er, etc. It wasn’t until I visited Beijing where I finally realized just how important tea was to Chinese culture.
On our second day in Beijing, we were taken to Dr. Tea (茶博士家). I knew that this was one of those “shopping” places where our tour guide likely made commission if we purchased some goods, and I have always hated these kinds of places as I feel like they were a bit of a waste of time and I’d much rather be visiting something with more historical and cultural significance.
Dr. Tea turned out to be very different from what I expected and was one of my favourite experiences on this trip.
Upon entering, we were greeted with shelves of packaged teas and tea accessories. We were taken to the back where we were going to be provided with a tea demonstration. The demonstration lasted about 15 minutes and we were thoroughly impressed the entire time. It was more like a performance than a demonstration and included a little history on tea before being shown how the teas were to be brewed for optimum flavour. Of course, we were also able to sample some of the teas.
Afterwards, we were free to look around and purchase any of the teas and accessories that were used during the demonstration. The products were likely much higher in price than what you could find at the local stores and markets, but there was something about this place that drew me in and I was more than willing to spend a little bit at this store.
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