Door No. 10: Wait and drink tea

One of the few stereotypes about Chinese people that is actually true is that they drink almost exclusively tea.

However, the way tea is consumed in China is completely different from Germany. You won't find any "modern" tea creations here, like Strawberry Cheesecake or Turkish Apple, packaged in tea bags and poured over with boiling water, only to be discarded after one steep. Many Chinese people truly cherish the act of tea drinking. For example, our new friends from Hangzhou have a different teapot for each type of tea. The water must also be at the correct temperature depending on the tea, but boiling water is never poured over the tea leaves. Generally, the first steep is discarded as it cleans the tea. The tea is then enjoyed from the second to the fifth steep. In general, the better the tea, the more times it can be steeped before it loses its flavor. This tea ceremony is not very practical for everyday life, as it is quite time-consuming. However, you can find small teapots or mugs with built-in infusers for a mini tea ceremony in the office or on the go. I actually got one for myself! Most teas here are very natural, simply dried leaves or flowers without any artificial flavors. The classic tea in this region is green tea, which you can also find in almost every restaurant as an accompaniment to a meal. We recently tried flower tea made from chrysanthemums for the first time - highly recommended. Not only does it look great, but it also tastes delicious! I'm going to make us another cup right now....