Tea bricks or
compressed tea (traditional: 緊壓茶; simplified: 紧压茶, jǐnyā chá) are blocks of whole or finely ground
black teaBlack tea is a variety of tea that is more oxidized than the oolong, green, and white varieties.All four varieties are made from leaves of the shrub Camellia sinensis. Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less oxidized teas. Two principal varieties of the...
,
green teaGreen tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It has recently become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally...
, or
post-fermented teaPost-fermented teas are a class of teas that have undergone a period of "aging" in open air, from several months to many years. The exposure of the tea to microflora, humidity and oxygen in the air causes it to undergo further oxidation through auto-oxidation, fermentation, and possibly some...
leaves that have been packed in molds and pressed into block form. This was the most commonly produced and used form of tea in ancient
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
prior to the
Ming DynastyThe Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. Although tea bricks are less commonly produced in modern times, many
post-fermented teaPost-fermented teas are a class of teas that have undergone a period of "aging" in open air, from several months to many years. The exposure of the tea to microflora, humidity and oxygen in the air causes it to undergo further oxidation through auto-oxidation, fermentation, and possibly some...
s, such as
pu-erh, are still commonly found in bricks, discs, and other pressed forms. Tea bricks can be made into beverages or eaten as food, and were also used in the past as a form of currency.
Production
In ancient China, compressed teas were usually made with thoroughly dried and ground tea leaves that were pressed into various bricks or other shapes, although partially dried and whole leaves were also used. Some tea bricks were also mixed with binding agents such as
flourFlour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
,
bloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
, or manure to better preserve their form so they could withstand physical use as currency. Newly formed tea bricks were then left to cure, dry, and age prior to being sold or traded. Tea bricks were preferred in trade prior to the 19th century in Asia since they were more compact than loose leaf tea and were also less susceptible to physical damage incurred through transportation over land by
caravanA caravan is a group of people traveling together, often on a trade expedition. Caravans were used mainly in desert areas and throughout the Silk Road, where traveling in groups aided in defence against bandits as well as helped to improve economies of scale in trade.In historical times, caravans...
s on the
Ancient tea routeThe Ancient Tea Route was a network of mule caravan paths winding through the mountains of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It is also referred to as the Southern Silk Road and Tea and Horse Road...
.
Tea bricks are still currently manufactured for drinking, as in
pu-erh teas, as well as for souvenirs and novelty items, though most compressed teas produced in modern times are usually made from whole leaves. The compressed tea can take various traditional forms, many of them still being produced. A dome-shaped nugget of 100g (standard size) is simply called
tuóchá (沱茶), which is translated several ways, sometimes as "bird's nest tea" or "bowl tea." A small dome-shaped nugget with a dimple underneath just enough to make one pot or cup of tea is called a
xiǎo tuóchá (小沱茶; the first word meaning "small") which usually weighs 3g–5g. A larger piece around 375g, which may be a disc with a dimple, is called
bǐngchá (饼茶, literally "biscuit tea" or "cake tea"). A large, flat, square brick is called
fángchá (方茶, literally "square tea").
To produce a tea brick, ground or whole tea is first steamed, then placed into one of a number of types of press and compressed into a solid form. Such presses may leave an intended imprint on the tea, such as an artistic design or simply the pattern of the cloth with which the tea was pressed. Many powdered tea bricks are moistened with rice water in pressing to assure that the tea powder sticks together. The pressed blocks of tea are then left to dry in storage until a suitable degree of moisture has evaporated.
Ya'anYa'an is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province of Southwest China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau.-History:...
is the main market for a special kind of tea which is grown in this part of the country and exported in very large quantities to Tibet via Kangting and over the caravan routes through BatangBatang is a regency in the north coast of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is Batang, about 100 km west of the province's capital city of Semarang.People in Batang are mostly Javanese who speak both Javanese and Indonesian....
(Paan) and Teko. Although the Chinese regard it as an inferior product, it is greatly esteemed by the Tibetans for its powerful flavor, which harmonizes particularly well with that of the rancid yak's butterYak butter is butter made from the milk of the domesticated yak . It is a staple food item and trade item for herding communities in south Central Asia and the Tibetan Plateau...
which they mix with their tea. Brick tea comprises not only what we call tea leaves, but also the coarser leaves and some of the twigs of the shrub, as well as the leaves and fruit of other plants and trees (the alder, for instance). This amalgam is steamed, weighed, and compressed into hard bricks, which are packed up in coarse matting in subunits of four. These rectangular parcels weigh between twenty-two and twenty-six pounds—the quality of the tea makes a slight difference to the weight—and are carried to Kangting by coolies. A long string of them, moving slowly under their monstrous burdens of tea, was a familiar sight along the road I followed.
The brick tea is packaged [in Kangting] either in the courtyard or in the street outside, and it is quite a complicated process. When the coolies bring it in from Ya'an, it has to be repacked before being consigned upcountry, for in a coolie's load the standard subunit is four bricks lashed together, and these would be the wrong shape for animal transport. So they are first cut in two, then put together in lots of three, leaving what they call a gam, which is half a yak's load. Tea which is going to be consumed reasonably soon is done up in a loose case of matting, but the gams, which are bound for remote destinations, perhaps even for Lhasa, are sewn up in yakhides. These hides are not tanned but are merely dried in the sun; when used for packing they are soaked in water to make them pliable and then sewn very tightly around the load, and when they dry out again the tea is enclosed in a container which is as hard as wood and is completely unaffected by rain, hard knocks, or immersion in streams. The Tibetan packers are a special guild of craftsmen, readily identifiable by the powerful aroma of untanned leather which they exude.
Another prominent guild in Kangting is that of the women tea coolies who shift the stuff from the warehouses to the inns where the caravans start. They have a monopoly on this work and the cheerful gangs of girls are a picturesque element in the city's life. They need to be immensely strong to do a job which consists of carrying over a short distance anything up to an entire yak's load several times a day. Many of them are quite pretty (and well aware of the fact); they look very gay and rather brazen as, giggling and chattering among themselves, they move along with their heavy burdens, which are held in place by a woolen girdle around the chest.
Consumption
Due to their density and toughness tea bricks were traditionally consumed after they have been ground to a fine powder. The legacy of using of tea bricks in powdered form can be seen through modern
Japanese tea powdersrefers to finely-milled green tea, most popular in Japan. The cultural activity called the Japanese tea ceremony centers on the preparation, serving, and drinking of matcha. In modern times, matcha has also come to be used to flavour and dye foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream...
as well as the pulverized tea leaves used in the
lei chaLei cha is a Hakka tea-based beverage or gruel consisting of a mix of tea leaves and herbs that are ground or pounded together with various roasted nuts, seeds, and grains. The tea is drunk for breakfast or on cold winters as a tasty and healthy restorative...
(擂茶) eaten by the
Hakka peopleThe Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
.
Beverage
In ancient China the use of tea bricks involved three separate steps:
- Toasting: A piece was broken from the tea brick and usually first toasted over a fire. This was likely done to sanitize
Disinfectants are substances that are applied to non-living objects to destroy microorganisms that are living on the objects. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially nonresistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than sterilisation, which is an extreme physical...
the tea brick and destroy any molds or insects. Such infestations likely occurred when the bricks were stored uncovered in warehouses and storerooms or in covered jars underground. Toasting also imparted a pleasant flavor to the resulting tea.
- Grinding: The toasted tea brick was broken up and ground to a fine powder.
- Whisking: The powdered tea was mixed into hot water and frothed with a whisk before serving. The color and patterns formed by the powdered tea were enjoyed while the mixture was being imbibed.
In modern times, bricks of
pu-erh type teas are flaked, chipped, or broken and directly steeped after thorough rinsing. The process of toasting, grinding, and whisking to make tea from tea bricks is now uncommon and not generally practiced.
Food
Tea bricks are used as a form of food in parts of
Central AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
in the past as much as in modern times. In Tibet pieces of tea are broken from tea bricks, and boiled overnight in water, sometimes with salt. The resulting concentrated tea infusion is then mixed with
butterButter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
, cream or milk and a little salt to make
butter teaButter tea, also known as po cha , cha süma , Mandarin Chinese: sūyóu chá or goor goor in local Ladakhi terms, is a drink of the Tibetans and Chinese minorities in southwestern China. It is also consumed in Bhutan. It is made from tea leaves, yak butter, and salt.-Usage:Drinking butter tea is a...
, a staple of Tibetan cuisine.
The tea mixed with
tsampaTsampa is a Tibetan staple foodstuff, particularly prominent in the central part of the region. It is roasted flour, usually barley flour and sometimes also wheat flour or rice flour...
is called Pah. Individual portions of the mixture are kneaded in a small bowl, formed into balls and eaten. Some cities of the
Fukui prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.- Prehistory :The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed...
in
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
have food similar to
tsampaTsampa is a Tibetan staple foodstuff, particularly prominent in the central part of the region. It is roasted flour, usually barley flour and sometimes also wheat flour or rice flour...
, where concentrated tea is mixed with grain flour. However, the tea may or may not be made of tea bricks.
In parts of
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
and central Asia, a mixture of ground tea bricks, grain flours and boiling water is eaten directly. It has been suggested that tea eaten whole provides needed roughage normally lacking in the diet.
Use as currency
Due to the high value of tea in many parts of Asia, tea bricks were used as a form of currency throughout
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
,
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
,
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, and
Central AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. This is quite similar to the use of salt bricks as currency in parts of Africa. Tea bricks were in fact the preferred form of currency over metallic coins for the
nomadNomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
s of
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
and
SiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. The tea could not only be used as money and eaten as food in times of hunger but also brewed as allegedly beneficial medicine for treating coughs and colds. Up until
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, tea bricks were still used as a form of edible currency in
SiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
Tea bricks for Tibet were mainly produced in the area of
Ya'anYa'an is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province of Southwest China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau.-History:...
(formerly Yachou-fu) in Sichuan province. The bricks were produced in five different qualities and valued accordingly. The kind of brick which was most commonly used as currency in the late 19th and early 20th century was that of the third quality which the Tibetans called "brgyad pa" ("eighth"), because at one time it was worth eight
Tibetan tangkaThe tangka was a currency of Tibet until 1941. It was subdivided into 15 skar or 1½ sho and, from 1909, it circulated alongside the srang, worth 10 sho.-Coins:...
s (standard silver coin of Tibet which weighs about 5.4 grams) in
LhasaLhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
. Bricks of this standard were also exported by Tibet to Bhutan and Ladakh.
Health effects
While all tea plant tissues accumulated
fluorineFluorine is the chemical element with atomic number 9, represented by the symbol F. It is the lightest element of the halogen column of the periodic table and has a single stable isotope, fluorine-19. At standard pressure and temperature, fluorine is a pale yellow gas composed of diatomic...
to some extent, tea bricks that are made from old tea leaves and stems can accumulate large amounts of these elements, which can make them unsafe for excessive or prolonged consumption. Use of such teas has led to
fluorosisFluorosis can refer to:* Dental fluorosis* Skeletal fluorosisSkeletal fluorosis can be caused by: Cryolite ....
(a form of fluoride poisoning that affects the bones and teeth) in areas of high brick tea consumption, such as Tibet.
Sources
- Bertsch, Wolfgang (2006) The Use of Tea Bricks as Currency among the Tibetans ("Der Gebrauch von Teeziegeln als Zahlungsmittel bei den Tibetern"), Der Primitivgerldsammler. Europäische Vereinigung zum Erforschen, Sammeln und Bewahren von ursprünglichen und außergewöhnlichen Geldformen (European Association for the Research, Collection and Preservation of Original and Curious Money), No. 75, Rüsselsheim.
- Cao J., Zhao Y., Liu J.W., (1998), "Safety evaluation and fluorine concentration of Pu'er brick tea and Bianxiao brick tea" Food Chem Toxicol 36(12):1061-1063
- Cao J., Zhao Y., Liu J., (1997), "Brick tea consumption as the cause of dental fluorosis among children from Mongol, Kazak and Yugu populations in China" Food Chem Toxicol 35(8):827-833
- Chen Yishi and Chen Fanzhou (1990): “A Survey of Export of Yunnan Tea for Tibet”. Tibet Studies. Journal of the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 2, no. 1, Lhasa, 1990, pp. 154–167.
- "History of Tea: China"
- Palace Museum Exhibition Brochure "Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds: the Culture, Practice and Art of Tea" Taiwan 2002
- Jordan, Reinhold (1975): “Ein Beitrag zum Teeziegelgeld”. Die Münze, vol. 6, no. 1-12, 1975, pp. 248–250.
- Rosthorn, Arthur de (1895): On the Tea Cultivation in Western Ssuch´uan and the Trade with Tibet via Tachienlu. Luzac & Co., London, 1895.
- Sigler, O. Phares (1950): “Brick Tea Money”. Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, vol. 16, no. 1, January 1950, pp. 81–84.
- Wang, Ling. (2003) Chinese tea culture, Pelanduk Publications, ISBN 9679787788
External links