我的中國茶之旅

文/桑國亞 （天普大學法學院） 譯/楊天一

我的中國茶之旅

文/桑國亞 （天普大學法學院） 譯/楊天一

桑國亞（中）在湖北長陽縣與當地茶農合影

編者按:

本刊邀請在華的外國朋友回顧他們在中國過去五年的工作與生活，分享他們的工作進展和他們關注的中國現象。本期特刊登美國天普大學法學院教授，“清華—天普法學碩士項目”美方主任桑國亞（John Smagula）的文章。

我過去經常喝咖啡。從大學開始，到我在華爾街工作，再到我從事教育行業(yè)，咖啡一直就像是我前進的燃料。

我從來沒有考慮過關于茶的事。童年時，我的父親每天早晨都會煮立頓茶，他喜歡茶甚于咖啡。我的母親也會在一天中的晚些時候喝茶，然而對于她而言，茶永遠也不能代替早晨的咖啡。那時，我們從來不會單純地只喝茶，總是要加一些牛奶、糖、檸檬或者蜂蜜來調節(jié)口味。

中美兩國的茶文化差異很大。中國生產的茶中70%以上都是綠茶，然而在美國消費綠茶的比例只有不到20%。大部分美國人只喝紅茶、袋裝茶或者冰茶，且大多數茶都是從印度、斯里蘭卡和肯尼亞進口的。當然，這些滋味濃的茶與中國云南和福建生產的精致、芳香的I used to drink coffee. Lots of it. From college to Wall Street to teaching law, coffee was the fuel that kept me going. I wasn’t different from those around me, as most Americans drink coffee every day.I never thought much about tea. When I was growing up,my father brewed Lipton tea every morning, as he preferred tea to coffee. My mother had tea later in the day, but it never substituted morning coffee. We didn’t drink tea plain, and we always added milk, sugar, lemon, or honey.Chinese tea culture is very different from U.S. tea culture.Over 70% of tea produced in China is green tea, although less than 20% of tea consumed in the United States is green. Most Americans drink black tea, bagged or iced, and the strong tea blends we drink are imported from India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya.紅茶是無法相提并論的。

當時我還是個孩子，我并不知道茶與茶之間還有這么多的區(qū)別。我從不泡茶喝，除非我生病的時候——因為我相信茶具有一定的治療作用。偶爾我會在點食物時要一些冰茶，或者在便利店買瓶裝茶飲料來喝。不管怎樣，在我年少的時候，茶對于我來說一直都不是最優(yōu)選擇，而僅僅是眾多飲料中的一種罷了。

后來，我來到了中國。1991年我在南京大學求學，2000年后我因為工作原因規(guī)律性地來中國出差。我現在任美國天普大學法學院法治項目的主任、副教授。從2012年開始，我便長期居住在北京，與清華大學合作，擔任“清華－天普法學碩士項目”的美方主任。隨著我在這里的時間越來越長，我對茶的喜愛也變得越來越深。

茶之初體驗

起初剛到中國時，我還是對咖啡情有獨鐘。那時，中國的咖啡店還沒有像如今這樣普及，所以我常喝速溶咖啡。其實我并不真的喜歡速溶咖啡，我在美國時從來沒有喝過速溶咖啡。記得有一次，我要去相對偏遠的地方徒步旅行，于是我買了許多速溶咖啡以備不時之需——我擔心出了大城市可能連速溶咖啡都買不到了。

隨著時間的推移，我逐漸感受到茶如何成為日常生活的一部分。有一次我拜訪了一個福建的家庭，他們每天晚飯后都會在家里自己泡鐵觀音，這早已成為他們家每天必不可少的一件事情；我還拜訪過一家廣州的茶樓，那里的茶藝師用各式各樣的茶具為我表演了工夫茶；此外，當我拜訪我在成都的朋友時，我們會在茶館相聚并一起品嘗竹葉青，看著茶杯里的茶葉垂直地立著浮在水面上，我常常感嘆茶的神奇。

這些經歷使我對茶越來越好奇，漸漸地也讓我開始學著了解茶文化。我開始問自己：既然身邊有如此神奇的茶，我為什么還要喝咖啡呢？于是我決定體會一下這充滿神秘色彩的茶。

當我終于走進了北京一家茶葉店時，我立刻被眼前如此豐富的選擇湮沒了。各種瓶瓶罐罐上寫著我不理解的茶葉名字，比如“銀針”和“毛尖”。售貨員接二連三地問了我很多問題，“綠茶，烏龍茶，花茶還是紅茶？”那一刻我真的感到非常震驚。

我最終選擇了一個我相對更為熟悉的茶——龍井。然后售貨員問我要什么等級的，我只是簡單地選擇了最便宜的那一種，因為我當時并不清楚不同等級的茶葉之間有什么區(qū)別。我又買來了一些干檸檬用來一起煮茶，

These earthy black teas are quite different from the delicate,fragrant black teas from Fujian and Yunnan.

As a child, I didn’t know there were different kinds of teas. I never brewed tea unless I was sick, as I somehow believed it had healing properties. Occasionally, I’d order iced tea with meals or get a bottle at the convenience store. In any event, tea was always an afterthought for me. It was one of many available beverage options.

Then I started coming to China. I was a student at Nanjing University in 1991, and I later started traveling to China on a regular basis in 2000 for work. I now am the Director/Associate Professor for Temple University’s China Rule of Law Program.Since 2012, I have been based in Beijing, directing Temple University law school’s Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree program in collaboration with Tsinghua University. My appreciation of tea grew as I spent more time here.

first impression

On my earlier trips to China, I was still a coffee drinker. I drank instant coffee, as coffee shops weren’t as plentiful then as they are now. I didn’t really like instant coffee, which I never drank in the United States. I remember once getting ready to go backpacking in a remote area of China, and I brought my own instant coffee with me, fearing that I’d find no coffee outside of the large cities.

Over time, I learned more about how tea forms a part of daily life. I had visited a family in Fujian who brewed Iron Goddess(Tie Guan Yin) after dinner at their home that evening,something they did every day as a matter of course. I had visited a tea house in Guangzhou where the server performed the Gongfu tea ceremony using a large assortment of tea ware.When visiting with friends in Chengdu, we would meet at tea houses and brew Zhu Ye Qing (known figuratively in English as green bamboo leaf tea), watching the leaves float vertically in the glasses, something I had always found very mysterious.

These experiences came together and formed a great curiosity within me, gradually raising my awareness of tea culture. With all this tea around me, why was I still drinking coffee? I decided to experiment more myself.

I stepped into a tea shop in Beijing, and I was instantly overwhelmed with the options. I looked at the canisters with names I didn’t understand, like “Yinzhen” (Silver Needle) and“Maojian” (Green Tip). The seller asked me many questions,one after the other in quick succession, “Green? Oolong? Floral?Dark?” I was overwhelmed.

I opted for the more familiar-sounding Longjing (Dragon Well)tea, and then the vendor asked, “Which grade?” I just chose the least expensive one, not knowing that there were different grades of each tea. I also bought some dried lemons to brew with it, not knowing any better.除此之外我也不知道有什么更好的方法。

說到泡茶，我也只是簡單地把一勺茶葉放進咖啡杯中，然后倒入開水泡制。后來茶葉開始慢慢沉入杯底，我又一直加水直到茶葉失去了味道。

雖然這只是一個嘗試性的開始，但我下定決心要多了解一些有關茶的知識。2009年我去了一趟杭州的西湖，在那里花了一整天的時間與當地一個茶農家庭待在一起。他們向我介紹了許多制茶的過程，用了一些我從來沒有聽說過的專業(yè)術語，比如“殺青”和“回甘”。那一刻我徹底被吸引了，這次經歷打開了我想要了解中國茶文化的大門。從那以后我便進入了一個全新的世界，一直在學習，學而知不足。

學習茶藝 研究中國茶

于是我便開始了正式的茶藝培訓，先是在美國，后來在中國。功夫不負有心人，2010年我獲得了美國的注冊茶藝師資格，2013年又在東方國藝獲得中國的注冊評茶員資格認證。雖然那段時間課程緊張，考試難度也不小，但現在回過頭來看，這一切付出都是值得的。隨著我對茶的了解逐漸加深，我意識到茶藝與法律有著非常相似的地方：在法律學習中，書本中的知識是基礎，只有實務經驗才能造就優(yōu)秀的法律人；在茶藝的領域，書本上的知識同樣是基礎，通過在實踐經驗之中培養(yǎng)的感官能力才是成為一名茶藝大師的關鍵。

在我學習茶的旅途中，實踐經歷也占了很大的比重。我經常會去全國各地的茶園并與當地的茶農進行深入交流，汲取知識。在這些年中，我的足跡踏遍了中國的各個省，包括福建的武夷山和安溪，安徽黃山市的祁門縣和太平縣，江蘇的無錫，湖北宜昌的長陽和五峰以及四川的峨眉山等。值得一提的是，在宜昌，我和當地的茶農成為很好的朋友，我不僅在茶葉的生長季節(jié)去當地考察學習，我還會在過年時前去專門拜訪。

茶帶給我的一切對我來說意義非凡。當我遇到了茶，便自然而然地放棄了陪伴我已久的咖啡。作出這樣的轉換其實并不難，尤其是當新的選擇遠比舊的選擇好得多的時候。如今的我已經不會在前往偏遠的外地旅行時攜帶速溶咖啡了，恰恰相反，現在的我反而會從遙遠的地方買些茶帶回北京或美國，這是我的個人專供。毫無疑問，因為茶，我的生活發(fā)生了改變。

我對于茶的研究始于我了解到所有的茶葉都產自茶樹。白茶、綠茶、黃茶、烏龍茶、紅茶以及黑茶都是

To brew the tea, I simply put a scoop of tea leaves into a coffee mug and poured hot water over them. Eventually, the leaves dropped to the bottom of the cup, and I kept adding hot water until the tea lost its flavor.

Despite this tentative beginning, I thought I should learn more.In 2009, I took a trip to Xihu (West Lake) in Hangzhou and spent a day with a family of tea farmers there. The tea master explained tea processing to me, using terms I had never heard,like “shaqing” (kill the green) and “huigan” (come back sweet).I was instantly intrigued, as the visit to a tea farm opened my mind to a whole new world of Chinese culture and society. The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn.

tea training and research

I then went for formal tea training, first in the United States,and then in China. I became a certified tea specialist with the U.S. Specialty Tea Institute in 2010, and then in China through the Oriental Arts Tea School in 2013. The instruction was intense, and the exams difficult, but well worth the effort. In studying law, book knowledge forms the basics, but experiential education creates a legal practitioner. With tea, book knowledge sets the foundation, but developing an acute sensory perception through practice is crucial for a tea master.

As part of my tea study, I have visited tea fields and spent time with tea farmers throughout the country, including Wuyishan and Anxi in Fujian; Qimen and Taiping in Huangshan, Anhui;Wuxi in Jiangsu, Changyang and Wufeng counties in Yichang,Hubei, and Emeishan in Sichuan. I have become friends with some of the Yichang farmers, having visited them during the tea growing season, but also during Chinese New Year.

All this tea and travel had an impact on me. Once I discovered tea, I stopped drinking coffee. It wasn’t hard to make the switch, as it’s always easier to give something up when you have something better to switch to. Rather than pack coffee with me when I travel to remote parts of China, I now bring tea from remote parts of China back with me—both to Beijing and the United States—to make sure I have my own personal supply.Life sure has changed.

My study of tea began with learning that tea is produced from the same plant, the Camellia sinensis. White, green, yellow,oolong, black, and dark teas are all produced from the tea bush. The key difference lies in oxidation of the tea leaf during processing. For example, green tea is not oxidized, and black tea is more fully oxidized. Different processing methods, such as withering, rolling, and fermenting, also create different varieties of tea.

Tea shops became easier to understand once I learned how to classify tea. Bai Mudan (White Peony) is a white tea, and despite its name, does not have peonies in it. Longjing and Bi Luo Chun are both green teas, grown in different regions with different從茶樹中來。然而不同種類的茶葉之間最關鍵的不同之處實際上在于茶葉加工過程中的氧化程度不同：綠茶完全未氧化，但紅茶往往是充分氧化的。除此之外，如萎凋、揉捻和發(fā)酵等不同的加工技術和生產工序也會對茶葉的種類產生影響。

在我學會如何辨別茶葉的種類后，茶葉店中的各種“未知”變得容易理解了。比如白牡丹是一種白茶，雖然它的名字中帶有“牡丹”二字，而實際上并不是由牡丹制成的；龍井和碧螺春是兩種典型的綠茶，卻有著不同的產地和生產工序；由于氧化程度比白茶和綠茶都要高，所以鐵觀音和大紅袍都屬于烏龍茶，它們的生產過程也需要更加復雜的工序；金駿眉和正山小種是兩種紅茶，它們的氧化程度比其他種類的茶葉要高些，但一個來源于芽而另一個來源于葉……關于茶的知識很多很多，我提到的也僅僅只是冰山一角，正是這種不斷探索的過程讓茶顯得更有味道。

漸漸地，我開始了解了茶葉店中各種茶葉的名字。比如，茉莉花茶并不是茉莉花的“茶”，而是茉莉花窨制的綠茶；人參烏龍是一種摻雜著少量人參和甘草根的烏龍茶；而菊花茶其實并不是茶，而是一種湯藥或者草藥。茶葉的品種、香味和氣味各式各樣，有著無窮無盡的拼配方式。

茶葉的分級同樣也是一個非常復雜的過程。在課堂中我學習了根據茶葉的外形、色澤、香氣、湯色、滋味、葉底來給它們打分。舉個例子，對于龍井茶來說，茶葉外形均勻的龍井就要比有著不同樣式的龍井高級一些——盡管它們嘗起來可能沒有太大差別。

除了為茶葉評級，我還要學習各種不同的泡茶方式。綠茶最好的泡制方法就是用高玻璃杯來泡制，烏龍茶可以在蓋碗中泡制，對于普洱茶來說紫砂壺則是個更好的選擇。選擇使用礦泉水、蒸餾水還是自來水在一定程度上會影響著茶的香味；不同的茶葉也會對應著不同的最佳水溫——泡制白茶和綠茶以80攝氏度為最佳，而紅茶則需要100攝氏度的開水。

“我”的茶

盡管有這些復雜的茶葉分類和規(guī)則，在泡茶時考慮具體情況也十分重要，要看茶泡茶。比如葉子較大的綠茶在泡制時可能會需要更熱的水溫，老白茶可能更適宜在紫砂壺中泡制。實際上，盡管有這么多標準化的條條框框，但喝茶其實是一個非常主觀的過程。我經常向我身邊的朋友建議在挑選茶葉種類和泡制方式時要遵從自

在黃山，桑國亞體驗制茶

processing methods. Iron Goddess (Tie Guan Yin) and Big Red Robe (Da Hong Pao) are both oolong teas, as they are oxidized more than white and green teas, and they also need more complex processing.Beautiful Golden Eyebrows (Jin Jun Mei)and Lapsang Souchong (Zhengshan Xiaozhong) are both black teas, with one made from buds and the other from leaves, yet both are more oxidized than other teas.

Little by little, I started to make more sense about the names I saw at tea stores. For example, jasmine tea is not its own tea,but rather, green tea scented with jasmine flowers. Ginseng oolong is an oolong tea sprinkled with ginseng and licorice root. Chrysanthemum tea is not tea at all, but rather a tisane or herbal infusion. The varieties, flavors, and scent combinations are endless.

Grading tea is a complicated process. In class, we learned to score the dry leaf, color, aroma, liquor, and wet leaves. With Longjing, for example, if all the leaves are the same size and have a similar appearance, it will have a higher grade than a Longjing with leaves of different sizes, even though it may have a similar taste.

I also had to learn the different methods for brewing tea. Green tea is often best brewed in a tall glass. Oolongs can be brewed in a covered bowl (gaiwan). Pu’erh teas can be brewed in purple clay (zisha) pots. The use of spring water, distilled water, and tap water can affect the flavor of the infusion. Different water temperatures suit different teas, with white and green teas best infused at 80 degrees Celsius, and black teas brewed at 100 degrees.己的內心，選擇他們所喜歡的。

我個人更喜歡在早晨喝紅茶，經常用一個帶不銹鋼過濾網的玻璃杯來泡正山小種，我之所以喜歡正山小種是因為它有著蜜糖和紅薯的香氣。中午，我喜歡喝綠茶，比如產自湖北的采花毛尖帶有一絲板栗的香味，這對于喜歡吃板栗的我來說簡直就是享受。在寒冷的冬天，普洱就是我的最佳選擇，無論是生的還是熟的都可以讓身體暖起來，就像寒冷和潮濕中的一個溫暖的火爐。

對于招待客人時的工夫茶，我則會選擇烏龍。先從帶有蘭花香氣的鐵觀音開始，然后沖泡大紅袍，那濃郁的甘甜和烤桃子的芬芳讓人陶醉。這兩種烏龍茶很耐泡，在幾次沖泡之后看著烏龍茶的葉子在水中慢慢舒展開，這樣的過程簡直是一種享受。

對于中國茶文化的研究與學習，讓我的生活變得更加豐富多彩。我去過茶園實地考察，也曾與茶農們談天說地，在結識了許多茶友的同時也讓我對中國的生活與文化有了進一步的了解。今年早些時候，我寫了一篇題為《茶之旅》的散文詩，并在一年一度的清華大學法學院學生節(jié)中配上音樂和視頻，進行了詩朗誦表演。茶的藝術，遠遠比茶葉本身要更富有內涵。

對茶的熱愛讓我開始向他人傳授與茶有關的知識。我曾在天普大學以及南佛羅里達大學孔子學院舉辦關于茶的講座，題目為《綠茶或紅茶？了解中國茶》。在這些講座中，我向美國的觀眾們分享了中國茶文化的博大精深以及茶的種種益處。

同時，我還在北京的東方國藝學校授課，在那里我與學生們分享中國和西方不同的茶的文化和習俗。這不僅能夠促進茶文化的傳播與發(fā)展，而且能通過茶來讓我們加強相互的溝通，促進彼此了解。

最后，我創(chuàng)建了一個叫作“老桑說”（laosangshuo）的公益勵志微信公眾號，在那里我也會與讀者們分享茶文化的方方面面。每一天我都會學習到一些新的與茶有關的知識，我也十分樂于將這些有趣的知識分享給世界各地的朋友們。俗話說得好，學無止境。我學到的越多，就越渴望繼續(xù)探索。通過我的公眾號，許多粉絲會和我互動，與我交流他們自己的想法與感受，這也令我獲益匪淺。

茶的價值體現在中國文化的各個方面，我們也能在不同領域、不同層次感受到茶文化的魅力所在。我的茶之旅為我?guī)磉@一切影響是我始料未及的，之所以與你分享我的這段旅程，是因為我希望它也能夠激勵你，鼓勵你繼續(xù)探索和感受博大精深的中國文化。

my personal tea

Despite these classifications and rules, it’s important to consider each tea independently when brewing. For example, a green tea with a larger leaf many need a hotter brewing temperature, and an aged white tea may brew better in a clay pot. Drinking tea can be very subjective, and I always tell friends to buy teas they like and brew as they prefer.

For example, I prefer to drink black tea in the morning. I brew my Lapsang Souchong in a glass tea mug with a stainless-steel infuser. I like Lapsang because it has hints of honey and sweet potatoes. In the afternoon, I prefer green tea. I often brew Caihua Maojian from Hubei province, as it has chestnut taste to it, and I have always liked roasted chestnuts. On very cold days in the winter, I enjoy brewing Pu’erh, either cooked or raw, as the Pu’erh seems to warm me up, especially on a damp, cold day.

When entertaining guests with the Gongfu tea ceremony, I brew oolongs. We’ll start with Iron Goddess (Tie Guan Yin), with its characteristic orchid scent, and then switch to Big Red Robe (Da Hong Pao), with its rich aroma with hints of grilled peaches.These oolong teas unfold their leaves slowly and can withstand several infusions.

All this study about Chinese tea culture has enriched my life. I have explored tea fields, spent time with tea farmers, made many tea friends, and learned more about Chinese life and culture.Earlier this year, I wrote a story called “My Tea Journey,” which I set to a music video and recited at the Tsinghua law school annual student festival. The art of tea goes far beyond the leaf.

My passion for tea has also caused me to teach about it. I have spoken at Temple University and University of South Florida’s Confucius Institutes on tea, giving a presentation called, “Green or Black? Understanding Chinese Tea.” In these talks, I have shared with Americans the richness and diversity of Chinese tea, as well as history and health benefits.

I also teach a course on tea at the Oriental Arts Tea School in Beijing, where I share with students the difference between Chinese and Western tea customs, helping us understand each other better through tea.

Finally, I have created a WeChat Subscription Account, Lao Sang Shuo (WeChat ID: laosangshuo), where I blog about various aspects of tea culture. I learn something new about tea every day, and I enjoy sharing these findings with audiences in China and abroad. The more I learn, the more I know that I need to learn. Many readers of my blog share their thoughts with me, and this exchange has been very enriching.

Tea embodies many different aspects of Chinese culture, and it can be experienced on many different levels. I would never have guessed that my tea journey would have such an impact on me, and I hope my journey will inspire you, too, to explore the wonders of Chinese tea.

「責任編輯：張曉」

My Tea Journey

By John Smagula （Temple University School of Law）