194455

Introduction Lei Cha Chapter 9

Introduction Lei Cha Chapter 9

“Taojiang County Chronicle” contains: “Tea can be divided into sencha, brewed tea, Lei tea, egg tea, and noodle tea. It is also called ‘five-course tea’. Generally, when guests arrive, they will first decocted tea, then brewed tea or Lei tea. Egg tea or noodle tea. Put a plate on the table and wait for it. The plates are generally more than 7, made of porcelain, filled with peanuts, salted ginger, dried sweet potatoes, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, various small wild fruits, and a variety of patterns.

Sencha is generally homemade tea Soak it in boiling water and cool it down for later use. To make tea, add tea leaves, sesame, turmeric, salt ginger or mung bean together with boiling water to brew, also known as sesame bean tea. Lei tea is a traditional custom of the county residents. , and the townships near Wutan are extremely popular.”

In the “Yiyang County Chronicle” of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty, Shangxiang drank more Lei tea, and “melted tea, sesame and ginger with a pestle and adjusted it, and the guests were also respected.” Today’s Leicha, add more sugar and peanuts.

“Taojiang County Chronicle” contains: Lei tea has the ability to quench thirst and cool down, refresh the mind, clear eyes and clear heart, detoxify and cure diseases, so the county people often drink it. In addition, according to the “Taojiang County Chronicle”, the county has a long history of planting tea. It is picked in three seasons, spring, summer and autumn. It is called first tea, second tea and tail tea. Grain rain is the best time to pick first tea, and there are people who eat “Guyu tea” in the county. custom. The home-made tea of ​​the villagers is generally smoked tea, mostly maple balls, smoked with sawdust, accompanied by herbs, and the tea has a unique fragrance. The sencha described above is brewed with smoked tea.

Taojiang’s “five-course tea” is famous all over the country and is a unique folk custom in Taojiang. The warm and hospitable Taojiang people usually greet guests from afar, with five kinds of tea, such as clear tea, egg tea, Lei tea, noodle tea, ginger salt and sesame tea. This custom is particularly prominent in Majitang, Wutan and Sandang Street along the Zijiang River.

The first one is clear tea. The host takes locally refined green tea leaves and high-quality mountain spring water, boils them, and brews them in delicate blue-and-white porcelain or small porcelain bowls, which are steaming and fragrant. This tea is not only to wash the dust for the guests, but also to express the warm hospitality of the host.

The second is egg tea. Boil fresh eggs with lychees and longan, and add a small amount of sugar. The first three kinds of food are all round, and the meaning of the host is to wish the guests “completeness”; the eggs are generally two, and the lychee and longan are generally 6 or 8. ; Adding sugar means that the guests live a sweet life. In some places, sweet wine tea is used instead.

The third course is Lei Cha. Take sesame, tea leaves, peanuts, mung beans, etc., mix them together and put them in a beating bowl, crush them with a special wooden stick in the bowl, then mix them with cold boiled water, add a little sugar, and it becomes a white milk-like beer tea. Sweet and delicious, refreshing. The host intends to relieve the fatigue of the road for the guests.

The fourth course of tea is noodle tea. In a small bowl, put a hard-boiled egg, commonly known as “poached egg,” with a little boiled noodles or homemade rice noodles on top, and eat it with a small copper spoon.

The fifth tea is ginger salt sesame tea. It is to add salted dried ginger and sesame seeds to the tea, and individual soybeans are added. Drinking the oil of the tea can relieve the stomach and stomach, and wish the guests a safe return journey.

When drinking tea, the host will serve “dish ingredients” to entertain guests, and put 7, 9 or 12 small plates, and the plates contain potato chips, Qiaoguo, pumpkin seeds, bitter gourd peel and other farm products.

Lei tea is a traditional custom of the county residents. Majitang, Wutan and Sandang Street along the Zijiang River are very popular. In the “Yiyang County Chronicle” of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty, Shangxiang drank more Lei tea, and “melted tea, sesame and ginger with a pestle and adjusted it, and the guests were also respected.” Today’s Leicha, add more sugar and peanuts. Leicha has the properties of quenching thirst and cooling, improving eyesight and heart, detoxifying and curing diseases, so the county people often drink it.

“Seven things to open the door every day, firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea”. This is the mantra of the people of Qixianhu District. Although tea ranks last, it is also an indispensable element in people’s daily life. The people of Qixianhu District are civilized and pay attention to etiquette. Especially when there are guests at home, they are very attentive. Tea is the first etiquette they often entertain guests.

There are many kinds of tea in a broad sense. Generally speaking, there are five types of tea in the Qixian Lake area of ​​Yiyang: tea (Ginger) tea, sesame bean tea or Lei tea, red jujube, lychee and longan boiled egg tea, sweet wine tea, noodle tea and other styles. The host will divide the guests into three categories: frequent guests, rare guests and distinguished guests according to the relationship with the guests, frequency of exchanges, distance, social occasions, and seasonal conditions.

Different types of guests are served with different tea styles. But no matter what kind of guests come, even if the neighbors come to visit, the host must give up his seat first. This is the most basic ritual. Frequent friends, neighbors, or colleagues are called regulars.

Frequent friends and neighbors who have not seen each other for a long time, or have been away for a long time before returning home to visit, are called rare guests. Close relatives and friends, relatives of children, relatives, elders, bosses, and distant relatives are called guests.

When regulars come, it is more casual, give up your seat first, and then offer a cup of tea brewed tea or herbal tea. Herbal tea is generally brewed with boiling water, and after it cools, filter the tea leaves and pour them into a teapot. Tea drinking is different in different seasons. Generally speaking, herbal tea is often drunk on hot days, and boiled tea is often drunk on cold days.

Rare customers come, and the grade of tea is higher. Instead of simple tea, use sesame beans to make tea or Leicha.

The tea brewed with fried sesame seeds, soybeans, tea leaves, salt ginger and boiling water is called sesame bean tea. The method is: first use scissors to cut off the ginger seedlings and fibrous roots, wash off the sediment, break off the ginger toes, and scrape off the epidermis. Mix the water with the ratio of one pound of cool water and alum, and then soak the ginger into the water.

After half a day, remove the ginger and drain it, then add an appropriate amount of salt to pickle, and stir it once a day. After three or five days, pick out the ginger, slice it into silk, and dry it for later use. You can also remove the ginger salt and boil the salt water of the pickled ginger.

After it cools, soak the ginger again and take it as you go. Put it in a teacup with fried soybeans and sesame seeds, add tea leaves and shredded ginger, and brew it with boiling water to make a fragrant ginger salt bean tea. Its characteristics are: light yellow in color, with spicy taste, invigorating the body and appetizing, expelling cold and nourishing warmth, refreshing and invigorating qi, strengthening the righteousness and eliminating pathogenic factors, and having a unique flavor.

When the distinguished guests come to the door, the specifications of the tea will be higher. What the hostess offered was not sesame bean tea, but a bowl of boiled eggs with lychee, longan, red dates. First boil the eggs and remove the shells, add dried lychee longan and a few red dates, add brown sugar and cook. The number of eggs is generally 2-4, and the host will decide according to the grade and appetite of the guests.

Three in most cases, four in the most polite. Jujubes are red, lychee and longan are round, eggs are white and smooth, and the soup is sweet, full of color, aroma, taste, and shape. Eating such high-grade tea, how can you not make your heart warm? Immediately grateful! The host uses this tea to entertain the guests, intending to wish the guests good luck, happiness, longevity, happiness, peace and perfection in the four seasons.

If a distinguished guest comes to visit on a traditional festival or the New Year’s Day, the host’s tea will be changed to another style. The host sets the wine table, and the red lacquer plate is filled with nine dishes of local tea food, such as fried rice cakes, Qiaoshu, sweet potato slices, peanuts, melon seeds, small flower slices, dried jujube, raisins, camellia slices or other non-staple food. Boil the home-made glutinous rice wine to make eggs, and some also put a small amount of glutinous rice in the sweet wine. The host and the guests sat together, eating and talking, chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere was lively.

If the host family arranges weddings, childbirth, birthday celebrations, etc., or the guests are close relatives of high friends, bosses, children’s relatives, the family’s seniors, etc., the Huxiang people will use the highest-grade tea ceremony – “noodle tea” . Yiyang noodles are well-known and considerate in Hunan.

The people of Yiyang incorporate noodles into the tea ceremony, using noodles instead of tea and rice instead of rice. Set up the table and chairs first, and place 9 or 12 small plates on the red lacquer plate, and the plates are piled with local dishes. The hot shredded pork noodles or egg noodles are brought to the table, and everyone drinks and eats vegetables while chatting and enjoying themselves.

If there are distinguished guests at home, such as children, relatives, bosses and friends, you can enjoy the top-level hospitality of Huxiang people and taste the five-course tea of ​​Dongting Huxiang.