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san dao cha

Naftal

By Naftal
in China: Cooking & Baking

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Naftal

Naftal

Posted
Posted

I am a student of chinese tea traditions. I am familiar with gong fu cha. I have often heard of the term " san dao cha" . I am even familiar with the fact that there is a Dali and a Bai version of the san dao cha. But, what these are and how they differ, I have no idea. Does anyone know anything about these traditions, or any similar ones?

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

Naftal

Naftal

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

I should probably add that "san dao cha" roughly translates to "three tea set". Is that any help? Does anyone know what I am talking about?

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

Seitch

Seitch

Posted
Posted
I should probably add that "san dao cha" roughly translates to "three tea set". Is that any help? Does anyone know what I am talking about?

Sorry Naftal, I'm not that familiar with the formal Chinese tea practices, but perhaps the drinks forum would be a better place to find someone who does?

insomniac

insomniac

Posted
Posted
I should probably add that "san dao cha" roughly translates to "three tea set". Is that any help? Does anyone know what I am talking about?

Sorry Naftal, I'm not that familiar with the formal Chinese tea practices, but perhaps the drinks forum would be a better place to find someone who does?

I know this is a tea ritual from the Dali area of the Bai minzu but that's all I can say as when we drank tea there I didn't (shamefully) take especial notice

Naftal

Naftal

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
I should probably add that "san dao cha" roughly translates to "three tea set". Is that any help? Does anyone know what I am talking about?

Sorry Naftal, I'm not that familiar with the formal Chinese tea practices, but perhaps the drinks forum would be a better place to find someone who does?

I know this is a tea ritual from the Dali area of the Bai minzu but that's all I can say as when we drank tea there I didn't (shamefully) take especial notice

Thanks All-I'll try the coffee and tea forum.

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

  • 1 month later...
greenspot

greenspot

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi Naftal,

I was in Dali in 2004 and got served the san dao cha ("three-course tea) by some old Bai ladies while taking a boat cruise around Lake Erhai.

As far as I remember, the first cup is called "bitter tea" (Chinese: ku cha), a small cup of strong tea. (I think it was green tea, but cannot remember exactly)

The second was "sweet tea" (tian cha) with rock sugar, peanuts, coconut and sesame.

The third tea was a milder tea with puffed rice and was called "hui wei cha" - a final "after taste".

There are many sites in Chinese on san dao cha and the ingredients and methods seem to vary.

Photo of san dao cha from Chinese travel page zhuangchend.travellife.org

China%202005%20594.jpg

Xinhua news agency has a feature on san dao cha:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/travel/2005-01/1...ent_2476403.htm

Rough translation:

"The first course is called 'bitter tea' [ku cha], because people should endure hardships if they are to achieve anything. First, high-quality green tea leaves are ground and heated [presumably in a wok], and when the heated tea leaves start to turn yellow and give off an aroma, a small amount of boiling water is added, and the brew is heated up for a moment. When the tea turns an amber colour, it is poured into a teapot and served.

The second course is the 'sweet tea' [tian cha], which symbolises how life can only have meaning if sweetness [happiness] follows hardship. Boiling water is poured into a clay guan [container of some sort], sugar, walnuts, sesame seeds, etc, are added.

For the third course, the 'aftertaste' [hui wei cha], a toasted rushan ['yoghurt fan', a dried wafer made of yoghurt, used in Bai cooking] is added to the tea, as well as red sugar, honey, osmanthus flowers, puffed rice, hua jiao [Chinese prickly ash, gives numbing sensation to the tongue] and other ingredients. The tea has an invigoratingly fragrant, sweet and slightly spicy taste, which can refresh one's spirits. The symbolism of the third course is that the success of one's work will leave a long-lasting 'aftertaste'."

Edited by greenspot (log)
Naftal

Naftal

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Hi Greenspot: Thanks a lot for the informtion. It was just what I wanted :biggrin: I'm curious about one thing: in the photo, was the third cup of tea in a gaiwan? Was the third cup you had served in one?

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

greenspot

greenspot

Posted
Posted (edited)

The three-course tea in the photo looks very similar to what I was served in Dali. And yes, the third course of tea was served in a lidded teacup as shown in the photo.

Edited by greenspot (log)
  • 4 weeks later...
Naftal

Naftal

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

hello again- I have two questions;

First, I know that there is a Japanese tea that contains rice (genmaicha?), is there a similar chinese tea? And if so, what is it called?

Second, this is a language question: Is the Mandarin word for 'sweet' similar to the Mandarin word for 'heaven' ? If it is, what is the difference?Is it perhaps tonal?

Thanks

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted (edited)

The tea is available in China and is known as 玄米茶 xuán mǐ chá

db071deae2552612fd2fe35cf6cf6660.jpg

Sweet is 甜 tián. Heaven is 天 tiān. So, yes the difference is the tones.

Edited by liuzhou (log)

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

  • 7 months later...
Naftal

Naftal

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Hello again- As usual, I have two questions, and one is a language question:

First: What are the Manderin characters for "Gaiwan"(the lidded/

handle-less tea-cup)and what are the proper tones for the transliteration?

Second:I am still looking for someone well-versed in any of the various Chinese tea traditions...anyone?

Thanks!

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted

The Mandarin is 盖碗 gài wǎn in simplified Chinese. The traditional characters are 蓋碗.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

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