Recipe: Dim Sum - The Role of Tea

THE ROLE OF TEA
Excerpted from Dim Sum: The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch by Ellen Leong Blonder

Legend has tea being discovered accidentally around 3000 b.c., when tea leaves blew into an outdoor cooking vessel being used to boil water. It was immediately appreciated for its refreshing flavor, and the eventual discovery of its medicinal value and ability to enhance alertness led to its increased use.

Tea was brewed from fresh leaves until the third century b.c., when drying and processing tremendously widened its popularity. Tea has been cultivated commercially in China for at least 1,800 years. Through the centuries, it has served as currency, as payment of taxes to emperors, and as a key factor in the development of porcelain, world trade, and international relations.

While the earliest teahouses served nothing but tea, that gradually changed. Starting with nuts and seeds, accompaniments became more and more elaborate, until "having tea" came to connote enjoying a meal at which dim sum played the central role.

Tea has evolved, too, into countless varieties, but every tea can still be classified as belonging to one of three categories: green, semi-fermented, or black (called red in China). All come from the same shrub, Camellia sinensis. Differences arise from processing techniques. Leaves for green tea are either wilted or not, then pan-fried, steamed, or fired in an oven to prevent oxidation and enzyme action. Leaves for semi-fermented and black teas are wilted, then bruised to allow oxidation to different degrees; this triggers enzymes to create chemical changes, producing tea with more color and less astringency. A final firing stops the process and dries the leaves.

Further variations in tea result from differing soils, climates, time of year the leaves are picked, which leaves are picked, whether leaves are wilted in the sun or shade, and whether flowers or other ingredients are added to scent the tea.

CHOOSING A TEA

The first question you will be asked when you are seated at a dim sum restaurant is, "What tea will you have?" Here are some favorites you may want to try, either at a restaurant or at home:

Dragon Well, or lung ching, is a mellow green tea celebrated for its bright color and cooling effect. The highest grade is picked from tiny, very young buds and leaves, then dried flat, and the skill required to process them contributes to its high cost.

Gunpowder, or pingshui, is a strong green tea named for the pelletlike shape of its tightly rolled leaves. It is also known as pearl tea, or zhucha, because of its appearance.

Jasmine, or moli huacha, is a green or semi-fermented oolong tea with jasmine flowers added. It is refreshingly astringent, with a delicate flower fragrance; the oolong variety is fuller, with a more lingering aftertaste. Jasmine is often the default tea you will be given if you don't make a choice.

Keemun, or qihong, is known as the king or champagne of black teas, for its roselike fragrance, slightly smoky taste, and deep amber color.

Lychee, or lizhi hongcha, is a black tea scented with the juice of lychee fruit, which also gives it a sweet, mellow, flowery aroma.

Oolong refers to a group of semi-fermented teas, less astringent than green teas, with a floral aftertaste. These include ti kwan yin and some jasmine teas.

Pu-erh (also pronounced po nay or bo lay), a semi-fermented tea, is a popular dim sum tea because of its reputed ability to counteract rich food and reduce cholesterol. This is the tea I order if I plan to indulge in deep-fried dim sum. It has an earthy, mellow flavor.

Ti Kwan Yin (also spelled tieguanyin), the Iron Goddess of Mercy, lends her name to this most famous oolong tea, prized for its orchidlike aroma.

BREWING TEA

There are many disagreements about how to brew perfect tea, with different opinions on correct water temperature, whether to use a tea ball or tea bags, how long to steep or infuse the tea, how much tea to use, and whether to reuse the leaves for a second pot. You will no doubt develop your own preferences, but for starters, here are some suggestions.

For the freshest-tasting tea, start with cold water in your kettle. While it is boiling, fill your teapot with hot water to warm it. Just before the water boils, empty the teapot and measure about 1 teaspoon of tea leaves into the pot for each cup of water you plan to use. If you use a perforated metal tea ball, do not overfill it, because the leaves need room to expand.

Pour the boiling water directly over the leaves and steep them for 3 to 5 minutes. (Some people first "wash" the dry tea leaves with a little boiling water, pouring it off immediately, then filling the pot with fresh boiling water.) Green teas require less steeping time than semi-fermented and black teas. Stronger tea is made by using more leaves, not more time. Longer steeping may result in bitter tea, so you may want to transfer the tea to another heated pot or, as many Chinese households do, to a heated thermos.

I don't mind a few tea leaves in the bottom of my cup, but if you're fussier, use a tea strainer when you pour your tea into the cup.

More boiling water may be added to the teapot for a second infusion. In fact, some connoisseurs insist the second infusion is best.

With a Chinese meal, whether to serve tea with or after the food is a regional preference, but tea is always served with dim sum. In any case, never add sugar, milk, or lemon to the tea.

Excerpted from Dim Sum by Ellen Leong Blonder
Copyright 2002 by Ellen Leong Blonder. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.