Cultural Tea Traditions Around the World

文/埃琳娜·張 瑪爾塔·洛佩斯·加西亞 譯/亢德喜

The history of tea has ancient roots, steeped in1be steeped in深受……的影響。generations of Asian culture and traditions beginning as early as 2000 BC. Indigenous2indigenous（動植物分布等）土生土長的。to the mountainous region of Yunnan in southwestern China, tea is now cultivated and enjoyed in all corners of the world.There are over a thousand subvarieties of the Camellia sinensis tea bush, each producing a different fl avor and personality.Lauded3laud稱贊。for its health bene fi ts and calming properties, tea has proved its longevity in each of the countries below.

茶的歷史久遠，最早可追溯至公元前2000年，深受歷代亞洲文化和傳統(tǒng)的熏染。茶原產(chǎn)于中國西南部云南山區(qū)，如今種植并風靡世界各個角落。茶樹亞種過千，味道特性各異。茶因具保健安神功效，在以下諸國備受推崇，經(jīng)久不衰。

China

[2] According to Chinese legend, it was Emperor Shen Nong44神農(nóng)氏，中國傳說中農(nóng)業(yè)和醫(yī)藥的發(fā)明者和守護神。who first discovered tea some 5000 years ago. As the emperor was boiling water, some dried leaves from a tree fell into his pot, and the emperor developed a liking for the beverage’s vitality and flavor. However,tea was likely utilized long before then as a medicinal remedy, mixed with various herbs to produce a pharmacological5pharmacological藥物學的。concoction66 concoction調(diào)配品（尤指飲料或藥物）。. The in fl uence of religion and the uni fi cation of China managed to popularize tea around the country, fi rst among the upper class and then among the masses,with the advent of77 the advent of （重要事件、物品）出現(xiàn)，發(fā)生tea houses during the Ming Dynasty. With each changing dynasty, the preparation and use of tea evolved, from solid cakes of compressed tea to loose leaf. Today, tea in China is an integral part of everyday life; the most popular type of tea is green, followed by oolong and pu-erh (fermented88 ferment醞釀；發(fā)酵。tea). Black tea was never very popular among the Chinese, having been reserved only for foreign export in the past. The practice of serving tea is ritualized in thegong futea service, a tradition that has continued to thrive in modern times.

中國

[2]按照中國的傳說，在距今約5000年前，神農(nóng)氏最早發(fā)現(xiàn)了茶。傳說神農(nóng)氏生火煮水時，一些干樹葉飄落入罐中，神農(nóng)氏逐漸喜歡上這種飲品的提神功效和味道。然而，早在此之前，茶很可能已被當作藥材使用，與各類草藥混合制成藥劑。宗教的影響以及國家的統(tǒng)一推動茶在中國各地流行開來，最初是在上層社會中，后來，隨著明朝茶樓的出現(xiàn)，才走入尋常百姓家。隨著朝代變遷，茶的制作和使用也在演變，從壓縮茶餅轉變?yōu)樯⒉枞~。時至今日，茶成了中國人日常生活中必不可少的物品。最流行的是綠茶，其次是烏龍茶和普洱茶（發(fā)酵茶）。紅茶在中國從未普遍流行，過去一直只用于出口。工夫茶的泡制已成定式，這一茶藝傳統(tǒng)在現(xiàn)代社會依然盛行。

Japan

[3] Tea was introduced to Japan during the 12th century by Chinese monks and Zen Buddhists99另說是日本遣使和學問僧將茶引入日本。, teaching Japanese priests the philosophical appreciation of the simple beverage. At fi rst, tea was reserved for the emperor’s court and high officials. It wasn’t until the 16th century, when Sen Rikyū100 千利休（1522—1591），日本著名茶道宗師，人稱“茶圣”。codified Japanese tea principles, that tea became a ubiquitous part of the culture. The Japanese regarded drinking tea as high art, emphasizing the beauty in simplicity and the appreciation of the moment,incorporating the many ideals of Zen Buddhism into the practice. There’s no better place to practice this art than in the Japanese tea ceremony called Chanoyu (‘way of tea’), in which matcha powder (ground green tea leaves) is used to brew a frothy11frothy有泡沫的。, ethereal122 ethereal輕飄的，稀薄的。tea.

日本

[3]中國僧侶和禪宗教徒在公元12世紀將茶引入日本，并向日本僧侶傳授這種簡單飲品的品鑒哲學。起初，茶專供天皇宮廷和高級官員享用。直到16世紀，千利休創(chuàng)設日本茶道后，茶才成為隨處可見的日本文化元素。日本人把飲茶視為高級藝術，強調(diào)簡潔之美和體悟當下，并將許多禪宗理念融入茶藝。日本茶道是實踐這種藝術的絕佳形式。茶道中使用抹茶粉（即碾磨成粉的綠茶葉）煮制的茶泡沫豐富，茶色縹緲。

England

[4] The Dutch East India Company133 荷蘭1602年建立的具有國家職能、向東方進行殖民掠奪和壟斷東方貿(mào)易的商業(yè)gave Europe its fi rst taste of tea during the 1600s, and England developed a craze14craze狂熱；風行一時的東西。for it. After trade relations with China turned sour during the Opium Wars, England turned to India as its main tea supplier. Soon, England created its own style of preparing tea by adding milk and sugar, after hearing the untrue rumors that this was how the Chinese drank their tea (only the Manchus ever added milk to their tea). The famous ‘a(chǎn)fternoon tea’ trend arrived in the 19th century, when it was common for only two meals to be served per day. The English grew hungry waiting for dinner, and became fond of having an assortment155 assortment花色品種。of sweets with tea and lemon in the after-noon. England is now one of the largest consumers of tea outside of China today,consuming mostly black teas like Earl Grey and English Breakfast16均為英國知名紅茶。.

英格蘭

[4]荷蘭東印度公司在17世紀首次將茶引入歐洲，英格蘭逐漸為之著迷。鴉片戰(zhàn)爭期間，英格蘭與中國貿(mào)易關系惡化，于是轉將印度作為茶葉主要供應地。不久后，英格蘭發(fā)明了獨具特色的制茶方式，在茶里添加牛奶和糖，這源于當時誤傳中國人如此飲茶，而實際上只有滿族人在茶里加奶。著名的“下午茶”風潮興起于19世紀，彼時英國人普遍一天只吃兩餐。英國人等不到晚餐時間就饑餓難耐，于是漸漸習慣在下午享用一些甜點，配以茶和檸檬。時至今日，英格蘭是除中國之外的茶葉消費大國之一，消費的主要是紅茶，比如伯爵茶和英式早餐茶。

India

[5] India is the largest producer of tea in the world today, and it’s mostly due to the influence of Britain during the1818 fennel茴香。00s. Initially, Britain attempted to cultivate Chinese tea bushes in India, which proved largely unsuccessful due to differences in climate (except for the region of Darjeeling in the Himalayas). It was soon discovered that India already had its own indigenous tea bush that grew in Assam Valley in northeastern India. Although India never developed the highly elaborate tea rituals like those of China or Japan, tea was still very much a part of everyday life. Black tea is often prepared with milk, sugar, and spices such as cardamom1717 cardamom豆蔻干籽（用作調(diào)味料）。, fennel1818 fennel茴香。, and cloves19clove丁香。(known as ‘chai’ tea in the west).

印度

[5]印度是當今世界最大的茶葉生產(chǎn)國，這在很大程度上是19世紀受英國影響的結果。起初，英國嘗試在印度種植中國茶樹，但由于氣候差異，這些嘗試基本沒有取得成功，只有喜馬拉雅山脈的大吉嶺地區(qū)例外。不久后，人們發(fā)現(xiàn)印度也有原產(chǎn)茶樹，生長于印度東北地區(qū)阿薩姆谷地。盡管印度從未像中國和日本那樣發(fā)展出精深的茶藝，但茶仍是印度人日常生活的重要組成部分。印度紅茶通常輔以牛奶、糖以及豆蔻、茴香、丁香等調(diào)味料飲用，在西方被稱為 chai。

Russia

[6] Tea trade routes along the silk road brought Chinese tea to Russia during the 17th century. These trade journeys, composed of camels and caravans200 caravan（尤指穿越沙漠的）旅行隊，車隊。, would often take over a year to complete, making tea highly expensive and reserved only for high society. The completion of the Siberian Railroad in 1880 changed all that, making tea widely available to the working class. Russian tea has become synonymous with the samovar21〈俄語〉薩莫瓦（音），茶爐，代指俄式茶炊。, a tall urn used to boil water. On top of the samovar sits a teapot, which contains highly concentrated black tea called zavarka2222〈俄語〉扎瓦卡（音），濃茶湯。. When it is time to serve tea, a small amount of zavarka is poured into a tea cup, diluted23dilute（加水等使液體或顏色）變稀，變淡。by hot water poured from a spigot244 spigot龍頭。in the samovar.

俄羅斯

[6] 17世紀，中國茶葉經(jīng)由絲綢之路的茶葉貿(mào)易傳入俄羅斯。這些商貿(mào)之旅由駱駝和商隊組成，往往一趟就要一年多。茶葉因此價格高昂，專供上流社會享用。1880年，西伯利亞鐵路建成，這一切才隨之改變，茶葉從此普及至工人階級。茶炊——一種用于煮水的高壺，已成為俄羅斯茶文化的代名詞。茶炊頂部是一個茶壺，內(nèi)盛被稱作“扎瓦卡”的高濃縮紅茶。沏茶的時候，茶杯中倒入少量“扎瓦卡”，再從茶炊壺嘴處接入熱水加以稀釋。

United States of America

[7] The American relationship with tea had a tumultuous beginning. As Britain’s colony during the early 1700s, America was forced to pay exorbitant255 exorbitant（價格、費用等）過高taxes on British exports such as tea in order to make up for the high costs of shipping.The colonists revolted, culminating in the Boston Tea Party of 1773, where over 300 chests of tea were dumped into the Boston Harbor. Shortly after winning the Revolution, the US began to trade directly with China, and tea became the most widely consumed beverage up until World War II. Iced tea became a most popular way to prepare the drink, originating during the hot summer of the 1904 World’s Fair.

美國

[7]美國與茶的關系肇始于動亂。18世紀初，美國還是英國的殖民地，被強制對茶葉等英國出口品繳納重稅，以補償高昂的運輸成本。殖民地居民不斷反抗，終于在1773年爆發(fā)了波士頓傾茶事件，300多箱茶葉被傾倒入波士頓港。獨立戰(zhàn)爭勝利后不久，美國開始直接與中國展開貿(mào)易，直到第二次世界大戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)前，茶都是最受美國民眾青睞的飲品。在1904年炎炎夏日中舉辦的圣路易斯世界博覽會上出現(xiàn)了冰茶，這成了一種最受歡迎的茶飲。

Morocco

[8] The trading routes that brought tea to Russia also introduced the drink to Arab countries like Morocco. In Morocco, green tea is consumed with mint leaves and sugar, a refreshing beverage to consume in the hot and dry climate.Welcoming guests with a hot cup of mint tea is an important way to show hospitality. Tea is often served in colorful frosted26frosted毛面的；磨砂的。glasses, accompanied by an assortment of spiced nut and fruit pastries2727 pastry油酥糕點。.

摩洛哥

[8]將茶引入俄羅斯的商道也將茶傳入了摩洛哥等阿拉伯國家。在摩洛哥，綠茶通常搭配薄荷葉和糖飲用，是干熱氣候里清爽怡神的飲品。以一杯熱薄荷茶迎客是展現(xiàn)主人熱情好客的重要方式。茶通常盛于彩色磨砂玻璃杯，佐茶小點包括五香堅果和水果糕點。

Thailand

[9] Who hasn’t tried a Thai tea? This is also one of the most popular teas in the world. It is made from strongly-brewed red tea that usually contains anise, red and yellow food colouring and sometimes other spices too. Thai tea is especially consumed in Southeast Asia and in lots of American and European restaurants that serve Vietnamese and Thai food.

泰國

[9]有人沒嘗過泰茶嗎？泰茶也是全世界最受歡迎的茶飲之一。泰茶用香濃紅茶制成，通常內(nèi)含茴芹、紅色和黃色食用色素，有時還加入其他調(diào)味料。泰茶在東南亞尤為盛行，歐美的許多越南菜和泰國菜餐館也常供應。

Argentine

[10] People often say that if you want to know Argentine well you need to try its meat, its wine and itsmate.Yerba mateis the national drink of Agentina and it’s more than just a drink. It’s also a way of life. Even though it’s not really tea (it grows on a bush) whoever travels to this country will fi nd out that people drink it at any time of the day. ■

阿根廷

[10]常言說，想深入了解阿根廷，就要嘗嘗阿根廷的肉食、紅酒和馬黛茶。耶巴馬黛茶是阿根廷的國民飲品。它不只是一種飲品，還是一種生活方式。耶巴馬黛茶并非真正的喬木茶（它生長在灌木上），但到過阿根廷的人會發(fā)現(xiàn)，這里的人們隨時都在飲耶巴馬黛茶。 □