I often wonder, why do Asians love tea so much? As a drink, the efficacy and taste of tea are naturally the first. However, a drink has lasted for thousands of years, certainly, it is not just for these two reasons. So what's the real reason?
When I was a child, I often saw my father holding a large water bottle wherever he goes, pouring out yesterday's tea leaves, adding new tea leaves, and then adding a large glass of boiling water. In this way, the tea for the whole day was prepared, and more hot water can be added after this one finished. Although I could smell the aroma of tea spreading to the whole house along with the steaming heat, I felt that the tea was just that, the taste was weak and bitter. Therefore, to be honest, I didn’t like tea when I was a kid.
I couldn't understand why my dad loved tea so much until when I was 14 years old, I went to my uncle's house by chance. He prepared a Kungfu Tea set and Tieguanyin for us. I have never liked drinking tea, but when my uncle opened the lid of the pot, I was shocked. It smells so good, how can tea smell so good? ! ! And the next hour also completely changed my perception of tea. It turns out that tea can be so fragrant and delicious!
After growing up, drinking Tieguanyin is even more different for me. After the first hot water pouring into the tea port, the richest fragrance will fill up with the whole room, but the taste of tea is slightly bitter. This remind me our journeys of lives from adolescence to about 30 years old. We seem to have endless energy, just like the fragrance of tea, but we are impulsive and reckless, and the final results can be slightly bitter like tea.
And after the second hot water pouring into the tea pot, the aroma weakened, but the tea began to be slightly sweet, and there was a sense of comfort in the taste. This reminds me that when we are 30 to 50 years old, although we don't have the energy we had before, we start to be mature, we start to think, we start to live, we are still not perfect, but we have gained more inner power through time.
With the last hot water, the aroma dissipated, but the tea was almost perfect. After the age of 50, we gradually began to understand a lot of things, and began to understand ourselves and the others. The body is no longer the same as before, but the heart is becoming more and more mature.
The aroma of Tieguanyin is very similar to our body, and the taste is very similar to our heart. From strong to weak, from weak to strong, the “three pouring” of Tieguanyin were only an hour, but it generalized one’s lifetime.
And this may be one of the reasons why my father and other Asians like to drink tea. Within one hour tea time, we can look at our whole life. Perhaps, we can cherish every moment even more, although all ages and moments are not perfect, but it can not be repeated. No matter what age or moment we are in, they all deserve to be cherished.
