Tea and zen have more in common than people know. That is the conviction of Liu Yongqiang, founder of ITeaWorld, that sells Chinese tea all over the world. “In China, tea is not only a drink, but also a carrier of spiritual cultivation. It is a consensus that most Chinese tea drinkers believe and practice the combination of tea and zen, and enlightenment through tea.”
Why did you start with ITeaWorld?
There are many brands selling Chinese tea in foreign countries. The tea products they provide are mixed, and the prices are inflated. Moreover, they only sell products but do not help consumers know about tea. We know that many people in many countries outside of China are interested in Chinese tea, but they lack a platform to help them to learn about Chineses tea and help them to rationally purchase Chinese tea. We hope to help overseas tea lovers on the basis of understanding Chinese tea , try to buy Chinese tea at a lower cost.
The original intention of establishing Iteaworld is to enable tea lovers all over the world to drink real Chinese tea at an ideal price, especially the rare wild tree tea and ancient tree tea. At the same time, Iteaworld hopes that tea lovers all over the world could feel the Chinese tea ceremony, enlightenment through tea, and feel the connotation and beauty of Chinese tea culture.
What makes Chinese tea so special for you?
In China, tea is not only a drink, but also a carrier of spiritual cultivation. It is a consensus that most Chinese tea drinkers believe and practice the combination of tea and zen, and enlightenment through tea. Tea is also a carrier of Chinese traditional culture. There is a saying in China: “firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea”, which means essential items for daily living. So you can see that tea is also one of the necessary things in the daily life of Chinese people. The reason is that drinking tea can meet people’s needs at various levels; first of all, drinking tea is useful to our body. There is a saying in Chinese medicine books that “tea is the medicine for all diseases”; in addition, drinking tea makes our life interesting. Drink tea and chat or talk about business with friends or drink tea alone, calm down, taste slowly, the mood will be peaceful, and the troubles will be forgotten.
Is there a Chinese tea that is currently your favourite?
I prefer wild black tea. Because the taste and aroma of wild black tea are very rich, fine tasting can taste the unique flavor of wild tea, and even remind you of the wild growing environment in the mountains.
The tea soup has a somewhat clear taste, while a somewhat heavy and astringent tea flavor spreads in the mouth. You may think that tea should be an orderly process from the entrance to the dissipation of taste, rhythmic like a piece of music. This tea is not, the initial obvious tea taste is a bit sudden, disorderly, and vigorous, as if feeling some free-growing life.
Open the lid of the cup with brewed tea leaves to smell the tea, it is a very obvious plant smell, maybe you can think of the leaves of the plant, or the branches of the plant. It is not the feeling of plants felt through electronic screens, but the feeling of plants that are more real, a little rough and not so fine. At the same time, the fragrance of this plant is also very pleasant, a little clear and high.
Is there a special Chinese wild tea garden that you recommend people to visit?
Wild tea grows in forests, mostly in a scattered state, so there are no concentrated wild tea gardens. But when it comes to the ecological area of wild tea, the recommended one is Tongmuguan in Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province. It is located in Tongmu Village, Wuyishan City, Fujian Province. It is an international nature reserve and the birthplace of Lapsang Souchong.
For tourists, this area is still a “restricted area”. If you want to enter the nature reserve, you must have a referral guarantee from an acquaintance in the area, or you must have a provincial approval in advance. In addition to the top-level wild Lapsang Souchong black tea, Tongmuguan also has the reputation of “paradise for birds”, “kingdom of snakes”, “world of insects”, “key to unlocking the biological gene pool of species”, etc. The monkey king in Tongmuguan is also one of the most famous internet celebrities in the area.
