Tea (8 page)

Horses proved to be the most valuable item needed by the Songs, and unimaginable amounts of tea were traded to the Tibetans for them. But just as desperately as the Song warriors wanted horses, the Tibetan tribes wanted tea.

Because the Tibetans lived at such high elevations, it was difficult for them to grow vegetables, and their diet was restricted by their geography. When tea became available, they boiled it in water, then mixed it with yak milk and butter to create a drink that provided desperately needed calories while adding some slight vegetative material to their animal-based diet.

According to the Tibetan book
Historic Collection of the Han and Tibet
(
Han Zang shi ji
), there is evidence that Tibetans were drinking tea at least as early as the Tubo regime (the same period as the T'ang dynasty).

There still exists today an ancient road, built during the Song dynasty, which is called the Tea and Horse Caravan Road. On this, traders traveled between Tibet and the Yunnan and Szechwan regions of China, taking tea from China and trading it mainly for horses from Tibet and other regions. Trade between the countries was so important that in
1074
the Chinese government established a Tea and Horse office. The
Historic Collection of the Han and Tibet
says that as many as twenty thousand war-horses from Tibetan tribes were exchanged for tea in a single year, and that up to
15
,
000
,
000
kilograms (
33
,
069
,
000
pounds) of tea produced in Szechwan were taken to Tibet in a year.

It was on this well-established and well-used trade route that tea pressed into bricks proved to be of great value. The bricks, made in China, were carried by camel or yak caravans into Tibet. They were of uniform size and weight— about twenty centimeters (eight inches) by twenty-five centimeters (ten inches) by three centimeters (one inch)— and were usually embossed with Chinese characters or scenes. Tea bricks were so commonly accepted as currency in Tibet that sometimes horses and swords were priced according to the number of tea bricks they would bring.

Even today, Tibetans use tea that has been pressed into bricks. Just as in ancient times, small portions of the brick are carved off, then ground into a powder. This is boiled in water, then strained, and the infusion is mixed with yak milk, butter, and salt, put into a kettle and kept warm.

The tea and horse trade between Tibet and China was a mutually beneficial exchange that lasted for generations and peaked during the Ming dynasty.

TEA IN KOREA

While the Tibetans valued tea for dietary reasons, the Koreans embraced the drinking of tea for more spiritual reasons. They, too, found that drinking tea produced a state of alertness that lasted for long periods of time, which was a great boon for meditation.

Although many scholars date the beginning of drinking tea in Korea as far back as the end of the fourth century, by most accounts, Koreans began to drink tea during the sixth and seventh centuries. In reality, tea probably came to Korea, as it did to many other places, with the Buddhist monks. Many Korean scholars went to China during the Unified Silla period (
668
–
935
) to study Buddhism or Taoism, and returned home ready to share their experiences. One of these experiences was drinking tea as an aid to meditation. The mild stimulation of tea helped keep the practitioners awake during the long hours of required meditation.

Wherever tea came from, records indicate that during the time of Unified Silla, it was used as medicine and also as an offering to Buddha for ceremonial or social occasions. Even though today only water is offered in rituals, remnants of the ancient tea customs linger in Korea. The written character used to designate the special water utilized in death ceremonies and other Buddhist rituals is the same one used for tea. During the eighth century in Korea, tea and Buddhism were so closely aligned that even public tea-houses sometimes displayed a statue of Buddha. Scholars and aristocrats would sit at these establishments to drink tea and discuss the teachings of Buddha.

The state called Koryo (
918
–
1392
) was established by Wang Kon, a ruler who held tea in great esteem. In spring, Wang Kon traveled to tea gardens throughout the region to help tend the tea plants. This was probably more a political gesture than a contribution of any actual labor, but it served as a good example to the people and showed his support of the tea industry.

Tea gradually became an important part of Korean culture and was drunk at special occasions, including weddings, the death of a parent, during commemoration of ancestors, or simply when one was welcoming guests. During Wang Kon's rule, people of different classes drank tea for different reasons. Commoners drank tea ceremonially to honor their ancestors. Aristocrats drank tea hoping to develop a sense of harmony. Monks drank tea to bring the mind to peace and equanimity. It was said that a senior monk watched how the novices drank their tea, and in this way determined their level of understanding of Buddhism.

After Wang Kon died, there was a great decline in the popularity of Buddhism throughout the country. Tea had been so closely associated with Buddhism that as the popularity of one declined, the other followed, although the monks continued to drink it in the monasteries. With fewer and fewer people drinking tea, most of the tea gardens in Korea were either destroyed or allowed to go into a state of disuse, except in the most remote southern regions of the peninsula, where many tea plantations were left intact.

THE SECOND SCHOOL OF TEA

During the middle of the eleventh century, the process of creating tea underwent a dramatic change in China as tea masters discovered new ways of processing tea leaves to bring forth enhanced flavor. Instead of being pounded and formed into bricks, tea leaves were dried and powdered, then boiling water was added, and the brew was whipped with a bamboo whisk until foamy. The resulting beverage was called “whipped tea,” and the taste was decidedly superior. It was sometimes poetically called “frothy jade” because of its green color and the foamy appearance caused by the whipping motion. Because the flavor was so much better, this new method of preparation proved to be a monumental step in the development of tea. This type of green tea (which we call matcha today) is still used in the Japanese tea ceremony.

This new whipped tea formed what tea scholars call the “second phase” of tea. During the first phase, brick tea was the most common form of processed tea, and during the third phase, which we're still in today, tea lovers began steeping loose tea leaves in hot water. The three “schools” or “phases” of tea are Brick, Whipped, and Steeped, based on the most commonly used preparation method.

Many of the implements that had been used to make tea from bricks became obsolete when whipped or powdered tea came into fashion. Also, not surprisingly, the process suitable for making tea into a powder was different from the processes that were best for baking into a brick, meaning the “best” teas had changed.

Ceramics and pottery in China changed along with this new development. As the process for making tea changed from boiling pieces shaved from a brick to whipping a powder with hot water, different vessels were needed to brew and drink tea as well. The tea bowl, common during the T'ang dynasty, was replaced with a wide ceramic saucer.

The most famous tea vessels were those made in Fujian Province. These were dark with everted rims, glazed with black streaks and white speckles, and sometimes marked with characteristic brown drops that ran down the sides of the vessel. Tea masters prized these dark bowls highly because they showed the light yellowish-green liquid of the tea. Though called “purple,” the bowls were actually a deep red and were made from the native clay. These pots were sometimes called “hare's fur cups” or “partridge cups” because the decoration resembled either the fur of the common hare or the plumage of the partridge. Fujian tea bowls were thick and heavy and kept the beverage hot for a long time.

Emperor Hui Tsung wrote, “The best kinds of chien [bowls] are very dark blue—almost black. They should be relatively deep so that the surface of the liquid will attain a milky color, and also rather wide to allow for whipping with a bamboo whisk.” The whisk, he went on to say, should be “heavy, the brush like slivers of light, their tips sharp as swords. Then when the whisk is used there are not likely to be too many bubbles.”

Teahouses were common in both the cities and villages. The most sophisticated of these were places of ease, comfort, and culture, famous for their sweet incense, beautiful floral arrangements, and decorative scrolls. In addition to tea, an alcoholic beverage made from plum blossoms was also served, along with small edible treats. Games were played to determine the best teas: Competitors would place a bit of tea powder into each cup, add boiling water, and whip the infusion with a bamboo whisk. After the powder settled to the bottom of the cup, the tea was drunk, and more hot water was poured over the used powder. This process was repeated as long as possible. The more cups of water the tea could color, the better the quality of the tea.

“If a man has no tea in him, he is incapable
of understanding truth and beauty.”

T
HE DRINKING OF TEA
, which was to have such a monumental impact on Japanese culture, began there as it did in other places, in a small and modest way. It was, perhaps, initiated by a simple sharing of a bowl of tea between two scholars. At the end of the sixth century, China and Japan enjoyed a close cultural exchange, and many Japanese scholars went to China to study. They were greatly influenced by Chinese civilization in all areas, including art, literature, calligraphy, science, and spiritual teachings.

TEA AND THE EARLY BUDDHIST MONKS

During the reign of Prince Shotoku (
574
–
622
) in Japan, Japanese scholars showed a great interest in Buddhism. Many of the Japanese scholars who went to China for religious studies also learned to cultivate tea, and eventually brought back both tea seeds and the knowledge of how to plant them and care for the plants. Because tea in China during this period (corresponding to the T'ang dynasty) was still baked into bricks, then chopped, ground, and boiled in water, this is how the Japanese began making tea as well.

The Japanese emperor Shomu was instrumental in spreading tea's popularity, particularly among Buddhist monks. The story goes that, in
729
, he gathered a group of one hundred monks for a day of reading Buddhist sacred scriptures. After the readings and meditations, he served the monks the new beverage, tea. This was a costly undertaking, as tea was one of the more expensive items brought from China at this time. The impact of this first Japanese tea party was considerable. The monks were so impressed with the effects of the beverage that they became obsessively interested in growing tea plants in their own country. One of the monks, Gyoki (
658
–
749
), dedicated the rest of his life to this pursuit, during which he built forty-nine temples and planted tea shrubs at each one.

In
794
, the fiftieth emperor of Japan, Kammu, built an imperial palace called Capital of Peace, in Hei-an-kyo (now Kyoto). A tea garden was built within the walls of this palace, and a government caretaker was hired to tend it. This position was put under the auspices of the Medical Bureau, a clear indication that tea at this point in Japan's history was still an important medicine.

Once begun, the flow of tea through Japan seemed unstoppable. In
805
, the most famous of all early Japanese tea enthusiasts went to China to study, and returned carrying seeds of the tea plant. Saicho (better known by the name awarded him after his death—Dengyo Daishi) planted these seeds at Mount Hiei in the province of Omi. Even today, there is a tea garden on this site, some twelve hundred years after the original tea garden was built.