Despite having spent my childhood in Hong Kong, I grew up knowing close to nothing about Chinese tea. Sure, I enjoyed varieties such as Tie Guan Yin (Iron Buddha) and Longjing (Dragon Well) as palate-cleansers with dim sum, or stole sips from my father’s brews at home. But it always seemed too serious, ceremonial and daunting to really get into; and after studying in London, I was instead drawn to the caffeine kick of an Americano or the ease of PG Tips. It was only when visiting my parents recently – and admitting, not for the first time, that coffee put me in an anxious frenzy – I decided to learn the basics.
盡管我的童年是在香港度過的，但我在成長過程中對中國茶幾乎一無所知。當然，我喜歡把鐵觀音和龍井作為點心的清口劑，也喜歡在家里嘗一口父親泡的茶。但它似乎總是太嚴肅、太儀式性、太令人生畏，無法真正進入；在倫敦上學后，我被美式咖啡的咖啡因刺激和PG Tips的輕松所吸引。直到最近去看我父母的時候，我才承認，咖啡讓我陷入了焦慮的狂亂，這已經不是第一次了。我決定開始學習關于茶的基本知識。