京城风尚｜品尝老北京茶文化品读北京新味道

Brilliant Heritage of Old Beijing | A Taste of Beijing’s Tea Culture

随着历史的变迁

茶文化在不同的历史时期

不同的地区

形成了其独特的风格和特征

今天就带大家“品味”一下

老北京特色茶文化”！

With the changes of the times, tea culture formed distinctive styles and features in different historical periods and regions. Today, let’s taste the traditional tea culture of Beijing.

老北京特色茶文化•茶馆

Teahouses: Carriers of Old Beijing’s Tea Culture

说到老北京的茶文化，不得不提到茶馆，由此也可以联想到老舍先生作品《茶馆》中那一方展现京城众生相的小天地。

Teahouse is an inevitable topic when talking about the tea culture of old Beijing. Famous writer Lao She’s drama Teahouse vividly depicts people from all walks of life in old Beijing.

老舍作品《茶馆》剧照

A still from Lao She’s drama Teahouse

北京的茶馆最早出现在元朝，关汉卿在其元杂剧作品中说：“自家茶博士的便是……但是那经商客旅做买做卖的都来俺这里吃茶。”明朝时北京出现了具有社交属性的茶馆，此后茶馆不断进化，并开始带有吃饭、听戏曲、听评书、下棋等功能，在清朝时达到了鼎盛状态。

老北京的茶馆从形式上，有大茶馆、清茶馆、书茶馆、野茶馆、棋茶馆、茶园等诸多形式，虽说都是茶馆，但北京人饮茶有个特点，那就是“饮茶之意不在茶”。

比如，书茶馆重在听书，听客们在饮茶中，感叹历史沧桑变幻、人物命运多舛。又如清茶馆，的确是卖清茶的，但茶客们多是起早遛鸟的老人，在这里谈“茶经”论“鸟道”，欣赏五花八门的鸟鸣百啭。再如棋茶馆，大都设备简陋，茶叶低档，这里的客人与其说是茶客，不如说是棋客。 

Teahouses began to emerge in Beijing during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). In one of his plays, Yuan Dynasty dramatist Guan Hanqing wrote,“As a teahouse keeper… many merchants and travelers come to drink tea in my teahouse.” Teahouses became kind of venues for socializing in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Later, teahouses continued to evolve into venues integrating functions like dining, traditional opera and storytelling performances, and chess playing, and reached the zenith during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

According to their functions and forms, teahouses in old Beijing could be categorized into large teahouses, light teahouses, storytelling teahouses, suburban teahouses, chess teahouses, and tea gardens. Though all of them were called teahouses, customers didn’t come just to drink tea.

For instance, storytelling teahouses focus on storytelling performances, enabling customers to listen to historical stories while sipping a cup of tea. Light teahouses do sell light tea, but customers are mostly old people who get up early to walk their birds, and they gather in such teahouses to share views on tea and birds and enjoy bird singing. Most chess teahouses are shabby and offer cheap tea. Customers mainly come to play chess, instead of drinking tea. 

老北京街头茶饮•大碗茶

Big Bowl Tea: Street Drink in Old Beijing

大碗茶不是指某一类茶，而是指北京特色茶文化，风靡于解放时期的老北京。大碗茶早年是挑担作生意，北京人出门在外时，无论是出差、逛街或干活，碰上卖大碗茶的，花钱买上一碗，猛灌一气，满足解渴的需要。

Big Bowl Tea is a kind of tea, but refers to a unique tea culture popular in old Beijing around 1949. In the past, Big Bowl Tea was sold by vendors shouldering a pole. Whether they were on business trips, shopping or work, Beijing residents would buy a big bowl of tea from such vendors to quench the thirst. 

清末时期的大碗茶

Big Bowl Tea in the late Qing Dynasty

大碗茶的服务对象主要是普通劳动者。泡茶用的是大绿瓷罐，几个粗瓷大碗，摆在路边卖茶水，吆喝声不绝于耳。

大碗茶的喝法，在旧时分为两种：一种是成茶，就是在铜制或瓷制的大瓦壶里放置着提前煮好的茶，客人来了随喝随到。还有一种是煎茶，它就是等到主顾来了以后，再把茶叶投入另外一个小一点的瓦壶中，然后再往里面倒入开水，进行冲泡。

Customers of Big Bowl Tea were mainly ordinary laborers. Tea was soaked in a big green porcelain pot, accompanied with several rough porcelain bowls. Vendors sold tea on the roadside, with their sound of hawking reverberating in the air.

In the past, there were two kinds of Big Bowl Tea: one was finished tea, which referred to tea was ready in a copper or porcelain pot, and customers could drink anytime; the other was called“freshly soaked tea”. When customers arrived, the vendor placed tea leaves in a smaller pottery kettle and then poured hot water to soak the tea. 

上：新时代，各地游客品尝老北京大碗茶

下：位于北京市西城区前门西大街的老舍茶馆

Upper: Tourists taste traditional Big Bowl Tea of Beijing.

Lower: Lao She Teahouse in Qianmen West Street, Xicheng District, Beijing

大碗茶在当时是市井文化的一角，现在已然成为了北京民俗文化的名片。在北京前门喝上一碗“大碗茶”，再加上那首京味儿十足的歌曲《前门情思大碗茶》，着实能引来不少外地朋友的光顾。

As part of daily life in old Beijing, Big Bowl Tea has been a“calling card” of local folk customs. Many tourists would like to enjoy Big Bowl Tea at Qianmen while listening to“Love for Qianmen Soaked in Big Bowl Tea”, a song with strong Beijing flavor. 

老北京人的最爱•茉莉香茶

Jasmine Tea: The Favorite Tea of Old Beijingers

北京人常喝的茶叶有茉莉花茶、珠兰清茶、武夷红茶、龙井绿茶、普洱茶、茶菊等。但唯独茉莉花茶成为了老北京人的最爱。

自清朝起，老北京茉莉花茶就被列入了皇家贡茶，红墙黄瓦雄伟宫殿里的慈禧老佛爷也成为茉莉花茶的“代言人”。慈禧喝茉莉花茶有着“双窨”的讲究，就是要在饮茶之前，用鲜茉莉花再熏制一次，以增加香气与滋味。渐渐地，达官显贵们开始追逐效仿，民间也就流行起喝茉莉花茶来。

Beijingers prefer jasmine tea, Zhulan light tea, Wuyi black tea, Longjing green tea, Pu’er tea, and chrysanthemum tea, of which jasmine tea is the favorite for many aged Beijing residents.

During the Qing Dynasty, jasmine tea was named a tribute to the royal family. Empress Dowager Cixi, who lived in the Forbidden City, became an“ambassador” for jasmine tea. She liked to scent tea leaves with fresh jasmine flowers again before drinking, in order to enhance its fragrance and taste. Gradually, dignitaries began to follow the suit. With the passage of time, jasmine tea gained popularity among ordinary people. 

北京市国家级非遗项目：吴裕泰茉莉花茶制作技艺

Wuyutai Jasmine Tea Making Technique: A National Intangible Cultural Heritage in Beijing

此外，过去交通运输不畅，采摘的新茶叶在运输的路上会带走香气和水分，于是北京茶商想出了用茉莉花调味茶叶的好主意，这样既保持了茶叶的香气，还有茉莉花独具特色的芬芳。另外，过去北京居民大多数水井的味道苦涩，破坏了茶汤的味道，茉莉花茶却完美的掩盖了水的苦涩。

在新时代，虽然交通方便，水质甘甜，但是久而久之，北京人却离不开茉莉花茶，香气弥久，代代传香。

In addition, fresh tea leaves would lose aroma and moisture in the lengthy process of transport due to inconvenient traffic conditions in the past. Then, Beijing tea dealers invented the method to scent tea with jasmine flowers. This method can not only retain the aroma of tea leaves but also add the distinctive fragrance of jasmine. Also, water from most wells in old Beijing tasted a little bitter, and jasmine tea could perfectly relieved the bitterness.

Nowadays, despite the fact that transportation and water quality have both improved, Beijingers still retain the habit of drinking jasmine tea that has been passed on across generations. 

茶文化涵养了北京人的生活方式和文化性格。老北京人在茶馆的热闹气氛里，忘却了孤独，在泡茶馆的轻松感觉中，获得了瞬间的自由。如今，新老北京人因茶而融合，在品茶中感受北京古老与现代共融的新风情，品读北京蓬勃发展的新味道，体会北京历史与现代相交融的新特色。

The tea culture nurtured Beijing people’s lifestyle and cultural personality. In a bustling teahouse, old Beijingers would forget solitude and feel free in the cozy atmosphere. Today, tea fuses past and present lifestyles of Beijing, through which one can experience the city’s new look that fuses tradition and modernity, feel its pulse of development dynamics, and enjoy its new feature integrating history and modern times.