TEA IN MALAYSIA

Dear loving readers,

No doubt that serving and drinking tea is very much a Chinese culture, not only in China but other parts of the world. This is especially true for those who still want to preserve this healthy and centuries old culture.

In Malaysia, you would not have much difficulty finding tea house in practically every corner of the country’s cities. For tea lovers, this is a place where people meet friends, exchange news about family members and also conduct business.

The Chinese tea ceremony is not a ritual as some may think. It is not related to any religion, but rather a ceremony. The whole exercise is concentrate on its taste and smell. The taste of the tea is compared to the previous tea through several rounds of drinking. The tea leaves can go for 8 to 10 rounds depending on the quality of the tea. Each round is said to have a different sensory exploration that is to be appreciated.

In the making of tea, what is most important is how it is infused. To add more colors to this, various type of tea utensil are used especially the tea pots. Tea pot comprises of various shape, color, size, different raw materials reflecting its style and its historical value.

Normally about three to five grams of tea are put in a cup with boiled water. The first cup is poured away and only subsequent cups of tea are drunk, but it does not apply to Pu'er. Tea drinking is said to help reduce weight, is good for the digestive system and will lower your cholesterol.

Basically, there are five main kinds of tea; categorized according to the techniques of making tea as follow:-

1. Longjing of Hangzhou,
2. Wulong from Fujian
3. Jasmine tea,
4. Black tea and
5. Compressed tea.

In Malaysia, we have our local tea plantation at Cameron Highland in Pahang State of the Peninsular Malaysia. It is the biggest tea plantation in Malaysia, there is even a small museum dedicated to it at the plantation.

Malaysia’s largest producer of premium black teas and the country’s No.1 preferred brand! To follow the website, please click at the title of the post.

Below is the brief description of the tea in Cameron Highland for your quick reference."

The black teas museum in Cameron Highland was opened in 1991, and is the only one of its kind in the country, that is dedicated to tea. Here visitors will be able to discover the impact of tea on the lives of various Chinese groups. On display are 300 kinds of tea along with information which traces the historical background and development of tea in China. Also within the museum is a research institute which often holds conferences on tea and tea culture.

Today, tea drinking has culminated into an art form that stresses on the types of tea, brewing and tasting of tea. There is a famous phrase in China,"ke lai jin cha" which means when a guest arrives, tea will be brewed. So don’t be surprised when you will be served with a cup of tea by your Chinese host.

Trust you enjoy it.

Cheers and have a lovely day,

James Oh