All the Tea in China by Wendy Hutton Tea is a critical ingredient in Chinese life. Tea is drunk before a meal and after a meal, but rarely during a meal.
Tea is drunk all day at work, at rest, when alone or with friends.
Indeed, it is hard to imagine a situation in which tea is not present. Tea drinking is a Chinese invention, although the plant may have first been grown in Southeast Asia. The Japanese tea ceremony, which makes use of powdered tea and a bamboo brush to beat the tea until a froth appears on the surface, was inspired by Chinese tea customs in the Tang dynasty. This accompanied the emergence of fine white porcelain that showed off the colour and shape of the leaves to their best advantage. There is only one tea plant, but many types of tea.