The language in tea house is very copious and interesting, for example, there are many interesting and unique “professional language” with a common agreement in tea houses of Chengdu. Tealeaf is called as leaf, putting tealeaves into tea bowel is called “catch”, the tea bowel is “full” in which tealeaf is more, less is “mean”, drinking tea is “eating tea”. The first infusion is called “ferment tealeaves” or “soak tealeaves”. If the water temprature is enough, the tealeaves will sink, some floating on top is “can’t ferment”, satirized “leaf as floating boat”. It’s “tired” that the temprature of water becomes lower, or “tired water”. To put water into tea bowel for the second time is “mix” or “infuse”. Only wate without tealeaves is “without base” or “glass”. It’s “hung hall” when customs are few, “crowed hall” when too many. “One open”, “two opens” are commonly used words. “Open” here means open the lid of tea bowel when add water every time.
“White” means the tea has become water without color, after add water many times. “Guan” is to mix tealeaves. Tea houses often mix several tealeaves with different grade or different price by a certain percentage, it’s called “Guan”, also “Gou”. And the mixing method is secret.
“Call the mony of tea” is to call the tea house servant to pay mony for friends. When enter into a tea house, the first person should shout “my treat today”, that is “call the mony of tea”.
“Chang” is to chang another new cup of tea. When others “call the mony of tea”, the left should say “chang, change”, if the persons aren’t a few, should say “change together ” or “change totally”. But the “change” doesn’t happen the most of time.
“Take the lid” means drinking tea symbolically. When others have paid and brewed tea, if you don’t have enough time to drink, you should take the lid and move it several times, then sip symbolically.If not, you’ll be thought rude.
Huacong Middle School in Bazhong City of Sichuan Province Tea Culture Team
