The beautiful combination of tea and snacks
"Have you had tea?" Did you drink tea? ) is the mantra of greeting people in Guangzhou. In Cantonese, "drinking tea" means drinking tea. Most people in China don't eat tea, while people in Guangzhou don't drink tea. Tea is always accompanied by snacks. It's hard to know where this habit came from. It is said that it is influenced by western food, and it is said that it is difficult to swallow without tea or snacks because of the hot climate in Lingnan.
Snacks evolved from ancient snacks. According to records, there were some snacks such as dried fruits and cakes at the banquet in the Tang Dynasty. Although dim sum was not invented by Guangzhou people, it must have been carried forward by Guangzhou people and spread to the whole world.
Dim sum first appeared as a supporting role, and later became the protagonist in tea drinking. Refreshments are an important part of tea drinking culture in Guangzhou, with a wide variety and exquisite production. The variety, style and flavor of refreshments are composed of skin, stuffing and technology. There are 23 skins in four categories and 46 fillings in three categories, which are combined with each other and have diverse styles. All famous teahouses have famous brands, which embodies the traditional style of teahouses. Therefore, in Guangzhou's food culture, refreshments have become an indispensable part because of their exquisiteness and richness.
Guangzhou has a value orientation of "attaching importance to business" since ancient times, and tea drinking has also moved from family to market, forming a tea house, teahouse, teahouse, tea house and other characteristic tea drinking houses. Especially in the Qing dynasty, it flourished. Today, most old Guangzhou teahouses were built in the Qing Dynasty with a history of 100 years.
People in Guangzhou pay more attention to the quality of tea, the quality of snacks and the environment of teahouses. First of all, the names of teahouses are very literary, such as Panxi, Lianxianglou and Taotaoju. And the architectural style is unique, either by the pool, by the mountain, or by the plants; The decoration is luxurious but simple. The older the teahouse name, the more couplets and poems there are. A pair of couplets or a poem, placed in a teahouse, looks elegant and refined, which is a kind of dressing and publicity for the teahouse. It is an appreciation and advice to tea drinkers.
A pleasant life of "one cup and two tablets"
People in Guangzhou drink tea according to time, including morning tea, afternoon tea and evening tea.
In early spring in Lingnan, Guangzhou people have the habit of getting up early. Morning tea is the highlight. They are all fresh after eating, so they are refreshed at work all day. However, lifestyle is changing. At present, most people who drink tea are old people. Tea drinkers of the older generation keep the habit of drinking morning tea. They have plenty of time. Morning tea is the main leisure way for the elderly. They are also very frugal, usually "two for one cup", that is, a pot of tea and two snacks, and they get together to chat after morning exercise. Because of the change of working style and living habits, the younger generation mainly drinks afternoon tea and evening tea, with leisure, making friends and working as the main purpose.
In the long-term development, Guangzhou tea culture has formed a unique tea drinking etiquette, namely knocking ceremony and pouring water. When others pour tea for themselves, you should tap your fingers on the table to express your gratitude. When you pour tea, you are also learned. You can't pour your own first. You must start with others, and finally with yourself. You don't have to shout for more tea, just open the lid of the teapot and the waiter will fill it up.
Some people may think that drinking tea is a very complicated behavior, but it is not.
When entering the teahouse, the waitress first gives a record card, first asks how many people there are, and records it on the card. This is called a coffee table. Everyone has a coffee table. The cost of each tea place ranges from one yuan to several yuan; Choose a good table and sit down. First, bring a pot of tea. Tea is optional, including oolong tea, Pu 'er tea, chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum and so on. Then help yourself. You don't have to get your own snacks. The teahouse has special service personnel who take turns pushing cars around the hall. There are all kinds of snacks and flavor snacks in the car. As long as the bus arrives, you can stop and see what's delicious. The waitress will take the initiative to record the account on the record card. All snacks are divided into six grades: small point, middle point, big point, vertex, special point and super point. What's the price difference between different teahouses? The waiter stamps the corresponding level of the record card with a small seal, and then pays with these small seals at the final settlement. Of course, other things, such as porridge, are cooked now, so you have to choose by yourself. The procedure is the same as buying snacks.
In this way, people are rich and thrifty, and choose snacks that suit their hearts. Between eating and drinking, what happened to you?
The continuous influence of good tea
If you ask Guangzhou people in other places, 100% will say that they are obsessed with drinking tea. Drinking tea is not only material consumption, but also a kind of spiritual enjoyment, which is a process of self-regulation of body and mind. Tea is the introduction, snacks are used to entertain, and the ultimate goal is to connect feelings. Actually, drinking tea is a social way. Even friends from other places will be conquered by them as long as they have been to the teahouse several times.
Friends come from afar, I must invite them to tea, or hold a cup under the old Manchu window, or chat by the lake. Although it is not as ethereal as Zhou Zuoren's "a half-day leisure under the tile window is worth a decade of dusty dreams", it can also relax the nerves that collapse on weekdays.
You can ignore the nourishment of tea, but exquisite dim sum is a pleasing art, with a dazzling variety: flour can be made into soup or fried; Steaming porridge; White and delicate rice rolls; Salty and sweet package; Pastry with attractive colors and shapes; Snacks with meat and vegetables always have a taste; Western-style dim sum also appeared in black and pink.
Often when friends are greedy, they will continue to guide them to appreciate other tea drinkers. Teahouses not only have the functions of dining and entertainment, but also have the need of business communication. Tea customers can talk about the stock market and the property market here and exchange various economic and commercial information. Teahouses used to be the best place for business negotiations. However, nowadays, with the diversification of consumption, there are more and more dining places to choose from, so many people lament that the teahouse culture is getting smaller and smaller. But in traditional Guangzhou, family gatherings are held in teahouses.
Yu said in "A Story of Five Cities": "From a certain point of view, the flower market and morning tea are just small embellishments of life, and there are many social events. How can we be so intoxicated? " Perhaps Mr. Yu also hates iron not to produce, but I don't know that it is these little embellishments that keep Guangzhou people awake all the time.
The noise of Guangzhou teahouse can best reveal the happiness of family: sincerely choose delicious snacks for relatives and friends; Read the newspaper and talk about eight things; Pity eyes were shining on the children running around in the corridor: in this secular scene, the tea in the teapot became so kind.