[InKunming--Yunnan] A tea artist in white dress was performing "the Eight Teachings of Taetea Ceremony", which separate the tea brewing process into eight parts: Cleansing Opening, Awakening, Measuring, Cultivating, Experiencing, Sharing and Finishing. 15 foreigners sitting opposite admired the performance and took pictures or videos from time to time. This scene took place in TaeTea House in Yunnan Kangle Wholesale Tea Market, Kunming City.

Although 15 foreigners come from 10 different countries, they like Pu'er tea for the same reason--interest. On April 14, they participated in a Pu'er (Pu-erh) tea tasting party under the framework of "Unveiling Yunnan". They tasted Pu'er tea and learned how to brew a cup of tea as well as Chinese tea culture.

Get to know about tea set

"Tea knife is used to pry tea cakes flawlessly.Tea scoop and spoon are perfect tools for measuring and scooping out tea. Using scoop or spoon will decrease the chance of contaminating your tea and prolong its freshness..." The tea artist was introducing tea sets and their usage for foreigners.

Chinese traditional tea sets vary from one to another and the tea culture has a long history, which impressed foreigners a lot. "Yunnan people drink tea with ceramic tea cups while the Nepalese do with glass cups."Basi Ranjan from Nepal said.

"I didn't know about tea sets before. I really like it especially the designs."Shanaz Parvin Keya from Bangladesh introduced that people of her country like to add some sugar, mint, ginger in tea drinks and they prefer to make tea as fast as they can. It is quiet different from the way of serving tea in Yunnan.

Know deep about tea culture

In the process of tasting Pu'er tea, under the guidance of the tea artist, 15 foreigners knew the differences between the Shu (or dark and earthy ripe) Pu'er and Sheng (or raw) Pu'er. Moreover, they tasted and learned how to brew a cup of Pu'er tea.

Sipped dark red-brown Shu pu'er, Mirkamol from Tajikistan said: "It tastes like earth a little bit. Quiet different!"

"It is my first time to drink Pu'er tea today and I like it."Kraskouskaya Aliaksandra from Belarus intended to buy some Pu'er tea, then drink Shu Pu'er in the morning and Sheng Pu'er in the afternoon.

Ovi, Nazim Mohammad from Bangladesh frankly said that he knew a little about tea ceremony. After brewing a cup of tea by himself, he sort of understood the essence of Chinese tea culture."I'll brew a cup of tea for my roommate." he added.

Foreigners exchanged thoughts about tea drinking styles of different countries while tasting Pu'er tea. Toktoraly Uulu Zhakshylyk said: "I tried various tea drinks with sugar. It is sweeter than Pu'er tea." In his opinion, Pu'er tea usually tastes mild sweet and a little bitterness with a lingering fragrance in mouth. After drinking, the sweetness will gradually cover the bitterness in the end.

"The first time I knew Pu'er tea was seen from the advertisement at the airport. At that time, I thought it was a just special product of Yunnan, but I didn't understand it well." Armanbyek Muratbyek from Mongolia said that he realized there are great culture behind tea after learning tea knowledge.

Hope Pu'er tea go abroad in the future

"Unlike coffee, it tastes mellow." Tom from Pakistan said, he was used to drinking coffee and milk tea. When he had his first drink of tea in Kunming two years ago, he has developed a habit of drinking tea. Influenced by him, his roommate drinks tea as well.

"Last year, I participated in the First International Tea Forum and knew about some business information of Yunnan Tea. I enjoyed a nice time by experiencing tea ceremony." he wants to cooperate with Chinese businessmen so that Pu'er tea can be exported to Pakistan under China's framework of "Belt and Road Initiative" .

Chowdhury Rahman also hopes that Pu'er tea can be introduced to his homeland, Bangladesh, in the process of promoting "Belt and Road Initiative" . 

"Belt and Road Initiative paves the way for the economy integration and promotes free trade within different areas. In this background, every country involved in the Belt and Road Initiative could effectively extend their products over the world. So it will be an enormous chance for Chinese products to be spread worldwide as well as pu'er tea."Chieck Omar Greou from Mali said.

From all over the world to beautiful Yunnan, from tea tasting to tea brewing, and to tea serving, foreigners not only learned about Pu'er tea but also appreciated the unique charm of Pu'er tea culture on the Pu'er tea tasting party.

Click here to view Chinese report.

(Editors: Rachel, Cathy Chen)