Chinese tea experts laugh about the green tea we get in the U.S. They say that our tea bags contain the scraps and refuse swept off the floor in the tea packaging plants. I'm not so sure about that, but I know that the Grade A and B teas that I taste at Longjing Tea Farm in Hangzhou are the most delicious green teas that I have ever tasted.
Whenever I visit Hangzhou with travelers, we take an hour or two to spend at the tea farm, learning about the picking, drying and packaging process. More importantly, the local people educate us on the health benefits of green tea. Of course, we westerners understand that green tea is good for us, but for many Chinese, green tea really is the "apple a day."
The water in China is not potable. Not even the local people drink it. They are not all buying bottled water; they are boiling their water. Since green tea is good for their health, many Chinese people can be seen toting around a bottle or thermos of green tea, oftentimes lukewarm. This is their "Camelback," but it's filled with tea, not water.
Whenever I visit Hangzhou with travelers, we take an hour or two to spend at the tea farm, learning about the picking, drying and packaging process. More importantly, the local people educate us on the health benefits of green tea. Of course, we westerners understand that green tea is good for us, but for many Chinese, green tea really is the "apple a day."
The water in China is not potable. Not even the local people drink it. They are not all buying bottled water; they are boiling their water. Since green tea is good for their health, many Chinese people can be seen toting around a bottle or thermos of green tea, oftentimes lukewarm. This is their "Camelback," but it's filled with tea, not water.
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