正文
中国人眼中的西方的茶
I presume American tea it’s the kind of tea that:
我猜你说的“美国茶”指的是那种:
may or may not come in form of a tea bag, most likely shredded;
可能是做成茶包的,通常(茶叶)是被搅碎的;
so often blended with tea leaves of different origins;
经常把不同茶源的茶叶混在一起;
sometimes with added bergamot oil, mint, ginger, chrysanthemum, jasmin, rose bud;
有时候还加入了佛手柑油、生姜、菊花、茉莉、玫瑰花苞;
consumed with sugar and milk.
喝的时候要加糖和牛奶。
Then No, most Chinese drink tea brewed from non-shredded non-blended tea leaves, and only the tea soup, no sugar, no milk.
那么,不,大部分中国人都是直接冲泡未搅碎、未混合的茶叶,而且只喝茶汤,不加糖,不加牛奶。
You don’t need a full tea set to enjoy it, just put tea leaves in a cup and pour boiling water in it.
你不需要动用一整套茶具,只要把茶叶放进杯子里,然后倒开水就好了。
Imaging that you drink burgundy wine with apple cider vinegar, or drink single malt whiskey with Coca Cola, that’s how we feel about those naughty ways of drinking tea.
你想象一下喝勃艮第酒的时候放苹果醋,或者喝麦芽威士忌的时候放可口可乐;我们就是这么看待你们那些调皮的喝茶方式的。
The maniac of whole-leaf tea consuming is explained by others. i’ll just talk about the botteld tea market.
其他人已经讲了(中国人)对全叶茶的消费热情。我就讲讲瓶装茶的市场好了。
Snapple and Arizona? Oh no thanks. There are botteld tea in China, but the market is occupied by local and Japanese brands such as Suntory and Ito En.
喝斯奈普还是喝亚利桑那(都是美国的茶品牌)?都不用,谢谢。中国有瓶装茶,不过这个市场被本土品牌和像三得利、伊藤园这样的日本品牌占据了。
Arizona is avaliable in some convenience store, and Snapple perhaps in Tesco or something like that.
亚利桑那在一些便利店可以买到,而斯奈普可能可以在乐购一类的地方买到。
However they are not so popular.
不过,它们都不怎么流行。
I would always choose Japanese botteld tea when I need one, especially when I go out and don’t want to waste my good whole-leaf tea.
当我需要瓶装茶的时候,我总会选择日本茶;尤其是在我需要外出,而又不想浪费自己大好的全叶茶的时候。
Even if sometimes I break down and want to drown myself into junk food and drinks, I would go to Hongkonese Vita lemon tea.
即使当我情绪崩溃、想把自己埋进垃圾食品的时候,我也会去选香港的维他柠檬茶。
(these are my “workday tea” with breakfast or snacks:)
(当我在工作日吃早餐或零食的时候,我会喝这些茶:)
(this is my “fxxk I lost control oooooohhhh I’m getting sugar high” tea, really addictive:)
(而这是我在“去他的!我要放飞自我!我要甜的!”的时候喝的茶,真的很让人上瘾:)
As for “Western” loose tea/teabags, sorry but I can’t name any American tea brands.
至于“西方的”散茶和袋装茶嘛,抱歉,我真的讲不出任何美国品牌。
It’s always linked with Britain. It just make no sence to buy English Breakfast from America…. the English sounds more “authentic” (not my own opinion).
我知道的都是英国品牌。我真的想不出什么理由去买美国产的“英式早茶”……“英国的”听起来更“货真价实”一些。(不光我一个人这么想)
Teavana is an exception. However I would say most Chinese people just choose tea in Starbucks because it’s sugarfree and cheap (sometimes both). The most beloved beverage in Starbucks is… Matcha latte!
茶瓦纳是个例外。不过,我觉得大多数中国人去星巴克买茶纯粹是因为茶在星巴克的商品里算便宜的,而且无糖(有时候这两个原因都有)。星巴克里最受欢迎的饮料是——抹茶拿铁!
Do you mean do they like teabag tea?
你的意思是“他们喜不喜欢袋装茶”?
Here in Vancouver Canada, the older Chinese who were born in China wouldn’t touch teabags with a 10-foot pole.
我所在的地方是加拿大的温哥华,这里的那些在中国出生的老一辈中国人根本不愿意碰袋装茶。
They like tea the traditional way.
他们喜欢传统形式的茶。
Their children, however - who were born in Vancouver or who came here when they were quite young - seem to prefer teabags, because of the convenience I guess, and because they’re not so much into tea as they are no longer pure Chinese, but Chinese-Canadian.
至于他们的孩子嘛——那些在温哥华出生或者很小就来到温哥华的——似乎比较喜欢袋装茶,我猜是因为方便,同时也因为他们并不是特别爱喝茶(毕竟已经不是纯正的中国人了,而是华裔加拿大人)。
Teabag tea sort of signifies a group of people who are caught between 2 cultures.
喝袋装茶似乎显示出一个人正处于两种文化的交叉地带。
When I lived in China long ago, everyone - young and old - drank tea the traditional way.
我很久以前在中国居住过,那时候,中国人无论男女老少都是用传统的方式喝茶。
Maybe things have changed; China has changed a lot since I was there, so I hear!
现在情况可能变了,我听说在我走之后中国变了很多!
By the way, many Chinese people love coffee, both in China and in Canada.
另外,很多中国人也喜欢咖啡,不管是在中国还是加拿大。
The Starbucks near my home is always filled with Chinese people, and when I was in China many students came to visit me at my home so they could drink my coffee, it seems (and speak English), which I always offered.
我家旁边的星巴克里总是挤满了中国人,而当年我在中国的时候,我的很多学生似乎是特意为了喝我的咖啡而到我家来看我,当然,同时也是为了讲英语,不过不管怎样我总是提供咖啡给他们喝。