By Connor Adams Sheets
Flushing played a part in the continuing narrative of Chinese tea ceremonies when the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel hosted an event which educated residents about the history, importance and traditions of the beloved drink while offering an opportunity to view a ceremony and taste the country’s delicate teas.
Steve Jones, an instructor at TenFu Tea College in China, said he believes tea brings people together through its artistry, flavor and ability to facilitate cross-cultural and intercultural bonding.
“I have a saying that tea is a bridge and we can use tea as a bridge for communicating,” he said. “For example, if you were sitting down and you had a teapot in front of you, and I sat down next to you, I think you would offer me a cup of tea.”
The event began with a reception and a speech by Rong-Tsang Tsai, director of the Ten Ren Tea Arts and Culture Foundation, followed by the main event, the tea ceremony demonstration during which 24 special guests participated in a tea tasting. They had the opportunity to try a wide range of teas, from Relation with Gentle Green Waves, a fine powder tea, to Heritage Iron Goddess Tea.
They also experienced a variety of traditional settings in which the various teas are served. Wedding tea called Assam Black Tea is served on the day of a couple’s engagement, a process whose intricacies tea company representative Julia Chang explained.
“The bride comes to the groom’s house with an older woman from her family,” she said. “She has to serve the tea to the groom’s family, especially the in-laws. It’s a sign of respect.”
Not simply a hot drink to fill a mug on a cold winter evening, tea is, as Flushing residents learned Sunday, a treasured sacrament of sorts for the Chinese, served as an accent to all of life’s important moments from birth to marriage to death.
Tea was first served as a beverage in China during the T’ang dynasty in the seventh century. For hundreds of years, tea drinking was a privilege reserved for royalty, until the 15th-century Ming dynasty, when it became widely popular as the emperor promoted it among the people.
Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
