Skip to main content

Tea and Its Importance to Chinatown

Tea drinking has been a part of Chinese culture for most of China's existence. It was said that the first (Mythical) Emperor of China, ShenNong, was also an herbalist, and he discovered tea back in 2437BC (or thereabouts). The story was he and his entourage had always boiled water for hygiene. After a journey, they stopped for a break, and his servants went to boil water. As the water was boiled, leaves were introduced accidentally into the hot water, either fell from a tree or dried leaves were brought by the wind and some fell into the hot water. The aroma soon drew ShenNong's attention, and he tasted it, finding it extremely refreshing. And thus, tea was born. 

However, tea drinking did not gain sophistication until millennia later. The first formal study and catalog of tea were found in Tang Dynasty, about 780AD, where a scholar claimed to have spent 20 years thoroughly documenting the process of planting, growing, harvesting, processing, brewing, and tasting tea. As trade became more popular more people are able to afford tea and drink tea as a past-time. 

Tea did not reach Europe until the 1600s, and it was extremely expensive. In fact, it could be said that much of the British expansion in Asia was to source cheaper tea... and that included selling lots and lots of opium to China to trade for tea... And when the local government objected to this, sent in armies to crush the local forces and engage "diplomacy by gunpoint" to keep the ports open and tea trade going. 

Please keep in mind that to the Chinese, tea only comes from brewing leaves of the tea plant, specifically, "camellia sinensis", but in the US, every sort of herb or flower in liquid can be called "tea", such as "ginger tea", "rose tea", "camomille tea", etc. Those are technically called "herbal infusions", or if you want to be esoteric, "tisanes". 

If you want a full discourse on Chinese tea (and herbal infusions), please come by Chinatown. There are like a dozen different tea sellers, plus the boba tea places. Not to mention the various "dry goods" stores that sell the materials for herbal infusions. Join one of the food tours that include tea tasting, or head directly to one of the tea shops, such as Vital Tea (two locations on Grant). They do tea tastings every day (except Tuesdays). 

Vital-Tea-Leaf on Grant

Inside of Vital Tea Leaf



Comments

About the author

Kasey is a professional tour guide and amateur historian who specialized in Chinatown History and Tours. You will often find him guiding groups sampling delicious food and learning interesting historical tidbits about Chinatown most weekends.

Popular posts from this blog

Dragon Gate and its Surprising History

You can't come to SF Chinatown and leave out Dragon Gate, aka the Chinatown Gate, at the corner of Bush and Grant. But do you know its history?  Chinatown Gate, aka Dragon Gate, San Francisco Dragon Gate (aka Chinatown Gate, aka Dragon's Gate) was designed by Clayton Lee and others in 1967 in response to a mayoral competition, and his was the winning entry. Originally two gates were proposed, but the other gate leading to Barbary Coast was dropped due to lack of funds, and cost overrun.  The gate itself was designed after a Chinese "pailou 牌樓" or "paifang 牌坊", which were the "gates" that marked separate fang 坊, or "ward" within a city. However, later it evolved into a purely decorative element. As with tradition, the gate faces South, and is composed of a large gate with two smaller side gates.  The gate has a lot of its materials donated by Taiwan (Republic of China) including artisanal tiles, roofing, and the two guardian lions. Despite...

Waverly Place: more than just a Chinatown Alley with a Sordid History

Waverly Pl was far more than just an alley in San Francisco. During the earliest days of San Francisco, it was apparently known as "Pike Street", at least until the 1906 Earthquake. I cannot find any historical references on when the name was changed. Many references imply state "Waverly Pl, (formerly Pike St.) while other references imply stated Pike St. Even from the earliest days in Chinatown, it was known as a place of brothels, and allegedly both Bella Cora and Ah Toy, the two most famous madams of Chinatown, have brothels at or very close to Pike St. (later Waverly Pl). For a while, the brothels co-existed with barbers on the same street, where sailors and miners can get a haircut and a shave for 5 cents, and later, 10 cents. So the area was also known as Five Cent Street or Ten Cent Street for a while. But the street remained mired with vices.  A "crime map" prepared for SF City Supervisors in 1885, note the blue and red vices mapped.  courtesy Cornell U...

Restaurant Reviews / Battle of Beef Stew Noodles: Utopia Cafe vs. Spicy Shrimp

Contestants In a battle between two "beef stew noodle" shops that are across the street in Chinatown, which one will come out ahead?   Utopia Cafe, 139 Waverly Pl ( Google Map )  Spicy Shimp, 150 Waverly Pl ( Google Map ) Category Beef Stew Noodle and variations Background Despite the simple name, it's actually not easy to make a decent bowl of beef stew noodle soup. The beef must not be too chewy, the noodle must be al dente yet not mushy, and the soup must be flavorful.  Utopia Cafe's Chinese name is 牛緬王, or "beef noodle king", so this is their supposed house specialty.  Spicy Shrimp, on the other hand, sound like a seafood place. But if you read their menu (in Chinese) their specialty seems to be brunch hand-made rice rolls where you can order them to add eggs, vegetables, and different types of meat or seafood.  When it comes to beef stew noodles, the advantage would appear to be in favor of the Utopia Cafe.  Results at Utopia Cafe Went in,...