中国茶

　　中国人喜欢喝茶，也常常用茶来招待朋友和客人。茶叶是中国人生活中的必需品。

　　茶树原产于中国。中国古人发现茶树后，起初是把茶叶作为药用，后来才当作饮料。早在2,000多年前，中国人就有了饮茶的习惯，以后又逐渐学会了培育茶树和制作茶叶的技术。

　　中国茶叶按照制作方法分为绿茶、红茶、乌龙茶、花茶、沱茶、砖茶等几大类，各类茶中又包括许多品种。

　　绿茶嫩绿鲜艳，是不经过发酵的茶。著名的绿茶品种有杭州西湖龙井茶、江苏碧螺春茶、安徽黄山的毛峰茶和产于安徽六安县一带的六安瓜片茶。

　　红茶是经过发酵的茶，沏出的茶水颜色红艳。中国著名的红茶有安徽的祁红茶和云南的滇红茶。

　　乌龙茶是一种半发酵的茶，茶叶松散粗大，茶水颜色金黄。最好的乌龙茶是产在福建武夷山的武夷岩茶。

　　花茶是中国独有的一个茶类，是在茶叶中加入香花熏制而成的。最有名的花茶是福建产的茉莉花茶。

　　沱茶是产于云南、四川的一种茶，经过压制，像个圆圆的馒头。

　　砖茶，形状像砖头，是蒙古族、藏族等少数民族喜欢喝的茶。

　　喝茶不但可以止渴，还能消除疲劳，帮助消化，预防一些疾病。长期饮茶，对人的身体健康很有益。

　　Chinese people like to drink tea, and often entertain friends and guests with it. The tealeaf is a necessity in the life of Chinese people.

　　Tea plants originated in China, although the ancient Chinese first used them for medicinal purposes before developing tea as a drink some 2,000 years ago, Later, they gradually learnt to grow tea plants and use the leaves to make various types of tea.

　　As regards the method of making tea, the Chinese variety can be classified into green tea, black tea, oolong tea, scented tea, tuo tea (bowl-shaped compressed mass of tea leaves), and brick tea, each consisting of many types.

　　Green tea is not fermented. Famous green tea includes Longjing tea from the region of West Lake in Hangzhou, Biluochun tea from Jiangsu, Maofeng tea from the Huangshan Mountains of Anhui Province, and Liu'an Guapian tead from Liu'an County of Anhui Province.

　　Black tea is fermented, and is brilliant red. Famous Chinese black tea is keemun tea of Anhui Province, and Dian black tea (Yunnan black tea) of Yunnan Province.

　　Oolong tea is half fermented, its tealeaves being loose and thick, and the tea is golden yellow. The best oolong tea is bohea produced in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian Province.

　　Scented tea is peculiar to China, which is made by smoking tea leaves with fragrant flowers. The most famous one is jasmine tea produced in Fujian Province.

　　Tuo tea (bowl-shaped compressed mass of tea leaves), produced in Yunnan and Sichuan, is compressed like a round steamed bun.

　　Brick tea is shaped like a brick, and is a favorite of the Mongolian and Tibetan ethnic groups.

　　Drinking tea can quench one's thirst, dispel fatigue, help digestion and prevent some diseases. Drinking tea for a long period is quite beneficial to people's health.