Bamboo-tube tea, scented tea and lemon tea are the three kinds of characteristic tea of the Dai ethnic minority. Dai villages are always located on a flat land near a stream, a river, a lake or a marsh and surrounded by bamboos and trees. The three kinds of tea can offer you a taste of the bamboo groves, Dai culture as well as exquisite tea itself.

Bamboo-tube Tea

Home-made bamboo-tube tea has always been the Dai people’s treat for guests coming to their home.

The producing process of bamboo-tube tea can be divided into three steps. First, put some tea leaves into a bamboo tube. Fill a bamboo tube that has been freshly cut down with dried spring tea leaves. Second, bake the tea. Put the bamboo tube on a tripod over a fire pit to bake the tea for 6 to 7 minutes until the tea leaves are softened. Pound the tea leaves with a wooden stick, and then fill up the tube again with more tea leaves. Repeat this procedure until all the tea leaves in the tube are compacted. Third, take out the tea. When tea leaves are completely baked, cut open the tube and take out the column-shaped bamboo-tube tea. With the aroma of both the bamboo and the tea leaves, the bamboo-tube tea is very tasty.

Scented Tea

Scented tea is another kind of tea of the Dai people. The osmanthus used for making scented tea by the Dai people are mainly golden osmanthus, silver osmanthus and orange osmanthus. Osmanthus has a light and elegant scent which spreads with the winds, so there is a saying that goes that a single tree of osmanthus scents a whole village. Osmanthus can be used to produce several kinds of tea, such as green tea, black tea and oolong tea. Its strong, elegant and lasting scent makes the scenting procedure of the tea producing process very fruitful. The Dai people love flowers such as the osmanthus. They wear a bundle of exquisite flowers rather than jewelry on their head during a festival. Jasmine, rose and other flowers are also used for tea producing.

Scented tea drunk by the Dai people varies according to age, gender, marital status and so on. The seniors drink osmanthus tea, the young jasmine tea, and those in love rose tea. Osmanthus tea is further classified. Premium golden osmanthus tea is for the relatively senior, inferior silver osmanthus tea for those in their middle ages, and more inferior orange osmanthus for the married. Jasmine tea is for married women, and rose tea for young people only.

Lemon Tea

Lemon tea, or love tea, is the most romantic among the three. Many lemon trees grow in beautiful Xishuangbanna. Lemon tea is usually given to tourists. A cup of lemon tea is intended to make a guest who loves the elephant-foot-shaped drum stay longer.

When making lemon tea, it is very important to use fresh lemon and refined tea leaves, and black tea leaves are the best. Put the steeped tea in a cup when it is ready, add fresh lemon juice to it, and you’d better add some sugar as well, which will make the lemon tea sour, sweet and tasty. For most young people, this is one of the best drinks.

Source: Confucius Institute Online