Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery Christchurch hosted two sessions of Tea Ceremonies on 17 June to allow people from Christchurch to understand the Chinese Tea culture and taste Chinese tea, 15 people participated, including 11 members of the U3A Port Hills. Participants learnt about how tea and the culture of tea originated in China, the medicinal and culinary use of tea, and how tea became people’s favourite beverage. In their introduction, Vicky and James pointed out that Tea was first cultivated in China was later developed into ‘Tea Culture’. Chinese Tea has undergone a series of evolution, from its original use as Medicine to becoming a source of Food, and finally becoming a Drink. Tea has now become one of the best loved drinks in the World in the forms of Yellow Tea, Black Tea, White Tea, Green Tea and Red Tea. It can be either handmade or machine produced. Through thousands of years of transformation and with the development of Tea as an important commodity, Chinese Tea Ceremony has now evolved into a colourful Art and a Culture with its own etiquette and philosophy.
In the Tea Ceremony, participants tasted two Taiwanese teas. They also learned about their where they were produced, how they were picked, and how they were made, and that their unique qualities were influenced by the environment they grew in. Dinking tea has nutritional qualities, and can help the drinker to be calm and feel better.
Participants liked the red tea they tried, with its bright colour, the smooth and intense taste, the aroma of cinnamon and mint that was very different to the traditional English white tea. Vivian from U3A Port Hills invited their members to the Tea Ceremony, as she felt that tea culture is a form of art. Participants were able to appreciate the richness of Chinese culture through their experience at the Tea Ceremony.
After the Tea Ceremonies, participants took the opportunity to enjoy the Dean Buchanan “Horizons” Exhibition and the beautiful interpretation of the scenery in New Zealand.