“Taojiang County Chronicle” contains: “Tea can be divided into fried tea, brewed tea, Leicha, egg tea, and noodle tea. It is also the ‘five-course tea’. Generally, when guests arrive, the tea is fried first, and the tea or Leicha is second. Egg tea or noodle tea. Set the table and place the dishes. There are usually more than 7 dishes, made of porcelain, filled with peanuts, salted ginger, dried sweet potatoes, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and various small wild fruits. There are a variety of patterns. Sencha is usually homemade tea Soak it in boiling water and cool it for later use. To make tea, add tea leaves, sesame seeds, turmeric, salt ginger or mung beans to boiled water and drink it together. It is also called sesame bean tea. Leicha is a traditional habit of county residents. , and villages near Wutan are extremely popular.”

According to the “Yiyang County Chronicles” written by Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty, Lei Cha was often drunk in the countryside, and the tea leaves, sesame seeds and ginger were “melted with a pestle to adjust the food, and the guests also respected it.” Today’s Lei Cha, add more sugar and peanuts.

“Taojiang County Chronicle” records: Lei Cha has the effects of quenching thirst and cooling, refreshing the mind, improving eyesight and clearing the heart, detoxifying and curing diseases, so the county residents often drink it for a long time. According to “Taojiang County Annals”, the county people have a long history of planting tea, and they pick it in spring, summer and autumn, which are called the first tea, the second tea, and the tail tea. Grain Rain is the best season for picking the first tea. custom. The tea made by the villagers is generally smoked tea, which is usually smoked with maple bulbs and sawdust, accompanied by vanilla, and the tea has a unique fragrance. The sencha mentioned above is brewed with smoked tea.

Taojiang’s “Five Ways of Tea” is well-known throughout the country and is a unique folk custom of Taojiang. The warm and hospitable Taojiang people usually greet guests from afar with five kinds of tea, including clear tea, egg tea, lei tea, noodle tea, and ginger-salt sesame tea. This custom is particularly prominent in Majitang, Wutan and Santang Streets along the Zijiang River.

The first dish is clear tea. The host takes local refined green tender tea leaves and high-quality mountain spring water, boils them and brews them in exquisite blue and white porcelain or small porcelain bowls, which is steaming and fragrant. This tea is not only to cleanse the dust for the guests, but also to express the hospitality of the host.

The second dish is egg tea. Boil fresh eggs with lychees and longan, and add a small amount of sugar. The first three foods are all round, and the meaning of the host is to wish the guests “fullness and happiness”; there are usually two eggs, and 6 or 8 lychees and longan, which means “pairs come in pairs, good things come in pairs.” ; Adding sugar means that the guests live a sweet life. In some places, sweet wine and tea are used instead.

The third course is Lei Cha. Take sesame, tea leaves, peanuts, mung beans, etc. and put them into the Leicha bowl, crush it with a special wooden stick, then wash it with cold boiled water, add a little sugar, and it will become a white milky Leicha. Sweet and delicious, refreshing. The owner intends to relieve the fatigue of the journey for the guests.

The fourth course of tea is noodle tea. Put a fried egg in a small bowl, commonly known as “poached egg”, put a little cooked noodles or homemade rice noodles on it, and eat it with a small copper spoon.

The fifth course of tea is ginger salt sesame tea. It is to add salted dried ginger and sesame seeds to clear tea, and some soybeans are also added. After drinking the greasy noodles tea, it makes the stomach comfortable, and wishes the guests a safe journey home.

When drinking clear tea, the host serves “dishes” to entertain the guests, and puts 7, 9 or 12 small dishes. The dishes hold potato chips, qiaoguo, pumpkin seeds, bitter melon skin and other local products of the farm.

Lei Cha is a traditional habit of county residents. Majitang, Wutan, and Santang streets along the Zijiang River are extremely popular. According to the “Yiyang County Chronicles” written by Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty, Lei Cha was often drunk in the countryside, and the tea leaves, sesame seeds and ginger were “melted with a pestle to adjust the food, and the guests also respected it.” Today’s Lei Cha, add more sugar and peanuts. Lei Cha has the effect of quenching thirst and cooling down, improving eyesight and clearing heart, detoxifying and curing diseases, so county residents often drink it for a long time.

“Seven things to open the door every day, firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea”. This is the mantra of the people in Qixian Lake District. Although tea is ranked last, it is also an indispensable element in people’s daily life. People in Qixian Lake District treat others with civilization and pay attention to etiquette. Especially when there are guests at home, they treat people very attentively. Tea is the first ritual they often entertain visitors.

There are many kinds of tea in a broad sense. Generally speaking, Yiyang Qixian Lake District has the following five types of tea: tea made from tea leaves (shredded ginger), sesame bean tea or lei tea, red dates, lychee and longan boiled egg tea, sweet wine tea, noodle tea and other styles. According to the relationship with the guests, the frequency of contacts, the distance, the social occasions and the different seasons, the host often divides the visitors into three categories: regular guests, rare guests and distinguished guests. Different types of guests are entertained with different teas.

But no matter what kind of guests come, even if neighbors come to visit, the host must first give up his seat, which is the most basic common courtesy. Friends, neighbors or colleagues who come and go frequently are called regular customers. Friends and neighbors who come and go often do not see each other for a long time, or return home to visit after a long trip, which is called rare visitor. Close relatives and friends, sons and daughters in-laws, elders, bosses, and relatives from afar come to visit and are called honored guests.

When the regular customers come, they are more casual, first give up their seats, and then offer a cup of tea or herbal tea. Herbal tea is generally brewed with boiling water, and after cooling, the tea leaves are filtered out and poured into a teapot for drinking as you pour. Drinking tea is different in different seasons. Generally speaking, people often drink herbal tea in hot weather, and drink more boiled water to make tea in cold weather.

When rare customers come, the grade of tea is higher. Instead of simple clear tea, tea or lei cha should be made with sesame beans.

The tea brewed with fried sesame seeds, soybeans, tea leaves, salt ginger and boiling water is called sesame bean tea. The method is: first use scissors to cut off the ginger seedlings and fibrous roots, wash away the sediment, separate the ginger toes, and scrape off the epidermis. Mix the water with one part of alum for every catty of cool water, and then soak the ginger in the water. After half a day, take the ginger out of the water and filter it dry, then add an appropriate amount of salt to pickle it, and mix it once a day. After three to five days, pick out the ginger, slice it into shreds, and dry it in the sun for later use.

You can also take out the ginger salt and boil the brine of the pickled ginger. After it cools, soak the ginger and take it as you use it. Put it into a teacup with fried soybeans and sesame seeds, add tea leaves and shredded ginger, and brew it with boiling water to become a fragrant ginger salt bean tea. Its characteristics are: light yellow in color, with spicy taste, promoting body fluid and appetizing, dispelling cold and nourishing warmth, refreshing and invigorating Qi, strengthening body and eliminating evil, with unique flavor.

When distinguished guests come to the door, the standard of tea is even higher. What the hostess offered was not sesame bean tea, but a bowl of lychee, longan, red dates and boiled eggs. First boil the eggs and remove the shells, then add dried lychees and longan, some red dates, add brown sugar and cook for a while. The number of eggs is generally 2-4, and the host will decide according to the grade and appetite of the guests. Mostly three, most politely four.

The dates are red, the lychee and longan are round, the eggs are tender and smooth, the soup is sweet, with complete color, aroma, taste and shape. How can you not feel warm in your heart when you eat such high-grade tea? Feeling grateful! The host uses this kind of tea to entertain the guests, intending to wish the guests good fortune, longevity and happiness, all the best, peace in all seasons, and consummation.

If the distinguished guests come to visit during the traditional festivals or the New Year’s Day, the host’s tea will be changed to another style. The host sets up the wine table, and the red lacquer plate is filled with nine dishes of local tea and food, such as fried rice cakes, qiaocao, sweet potato slices, peanuts, melon seeds, small flower slices, dried jujubes, raisins, camellia slices or other non-staple food. Cook the homemade glutinous rice liqueur and pour eggs, and some also put a small amount of glutinous rice cakes in the rum. The host and guests sat together, eating and talking, chatting and laughing happily, intimate and lively.

If the host’s family organizes weddings, weddings, birthdays, etc., or if the guests are distinguished relatives such as senior friends, bosses, sons and daughters, family members, etc., Huxiang people will use the highest-grade tea ceremony – “miancha” . Yiyang noodles are more famous in Hunan, and they are considerate. The people of Yiyang incorporated noodles into the tea ceremony, replacing tea with noodles and rice with tea. First set up the tables and chairs, put 9 or 12 small plates on the red lacquer plate, and the plates are piled up with local flavor dishes. Hot shredded pork noodles or egg noodles are served on the table, and everyone chats happily while drinking and eating vegetables.

If there are distinguished guests at home, such as children, in-laws, bosses and friends, you can enjoy the top-level hospitality of Huxiang people and taste the five-course tea of ​​Dongting Huxiang.