The Art of Tea: University professor leads tea tasting, explains history and culture

Shu-Chuan Wang-McGrath holds her teacup close to her face. She instructs students to hold their cup with both hands and smell the fragrance of the tea before drinking it.
Photo by Jasmine Jones

Shu-Chuan Wang-McGrath loves tea. She drinks it every day and travels the world to purchase it. And as a communication studies and languages professor at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO), she uses tea to teach students about culture and history.

On Friday, Feb. 10, Wang-McGrath invites her current Chinese language students, past students, community members and other professors to a tea tasting at SEMO’s International Village. She gives every guest their own tea bowl. In the center of the room, she displays her tea leaves in small labeled glass jars, along with an assortment of tea pots and tools.

Wang-McGrath starts by explaining the two different pronunciations of tea: “cha” and “tea.” The origin of the two words dates back to the Silk Road and the method by which tea leaves were exported to a given region. For example, if tea was delivered by land, the region most likely says “cha;” if tea was delivered by sea, the region most likely says “tea.” She says a few exceptions include Japan and Korea, where people say “cha” due to the influence of the Chinese Han dynasty upon both regions.

All tea comes from the same plant; Wang-McGrath restates this fact many times during the class. She says the different varieties and shapes of tea come from the way the plants are planted, harvested, roasted, aged and processed.

“[Different types of tea] come from same tea [plant], but planted in different places with different water and soil,” Wang-McGrath says. “Then, we think about people. Well, people, maybe we are from the same tree, brother and sister, but we are put in different family and then become differently.”

Shu-Chuan Wang-MGrath serves white tea from a French press to guests at her tea tasting. She says white tea leaves are picked when they are young on the tree, which makes their leaves "most tender."
Photo by Jasmine Jones

Wang-McGrath points out the different tools and pots used to brew tea. She holds up a traditional tea pot, which is a simple pot with a lid. She says the lid is used to manually guide the tea leaves through the hot water. Another pot she owns is made of special clay with minerals that “enhance the flavor of the tea.” She says the flavor of tea depends “a lot” upon the tools one uses and the amount of time spent steeping the tea.

For the purpose of the class, Wang-McGrath uses a French press to quickly make tea to serve. After all of the tea is poured, Wang-McGrath demonstrates the best way to taste it.

“All the cups I gave you are mugs without a handle. We like to drink tea that you can feel the warmth of. So, hold it first. Then, hold it under your nose to smell it,” she says.

Wang-McGrath smells her tea, takes a deep breath and says, “Ah, what a beautiful day.” She explains how tea should be tasted like wine. First, by smell; then, by taste. She says this helps the tea drinker “feel the differences” between flavors. The flavor of the teas can also be changed by the snacks that are eaten with it, which is why Wang-McGrath has provided cookies and rice cakes.

At the tasting, Wang-McGrath serves white tea, high mountain tea, oolong tea and aged tea. She explains the different ways each tea was created. She says white tea leaves are harvested as “babies;” high mountain tea is grown in high altitudes; oolong tea is processed more than green tea but less than black tea; aged tea is fermented for many years before it is sold. The aged tea she serves at the tasting is 43 years old, and she bought it for $200 when the tea was 30 years old.

A teacup filled with jasmine tea sits at a guest's spot at Shu-Chuan Wang-McGrath's tea tasting lesson Friday, Feb. 10, at Southeast Missouri State University's International Village. At the event, students, professors and community members tasted and learned about different types of tea.
Photo by Jasmine Jones

After Wang-McGrath’s presentation, two students, Urga from Mongolia and Pema from Tibet, brew milk tea representative of their cultures. They say milk tea in Mongolia and Tibet is typically hot black tea brewed with milk and butter. Sometimes, Urga says she adds salt to her milk tea. Pema says in Tibet, they typically use yak milk instead of cow milk.

“In Tibet, we drink milk tea every day,” Pema says. “My grandpa, he lived to 103 [years old], and every time people ask him, ‘How you live such long life?,’ he say, ‘I drink milk tea every day.’”

Wang-McGrath says tea is an important part of her life, and she is happy to teach others about the complexities, history and culture behind this drink. Every time she has a guest in her home, the first thing she asks them is, “Can I serve you some tea?” She says tea is a great way to bring people closer together. It’s also a way to grow closer to oneself.

“[With drinking tea,] I can have quiet time. I find a corner in my house and have time to think about whatever is going on,” she says. “It’s life. It’s a way of life, you do it daily.”

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