By drawing patterns on the surface of a cup of tea, chabaixi. an ancient Chinese tea trick displayed in a recent TV drama, has gone popular for its apparent similarity with modern latte art. However, ten years ago, this distinctive technique was close to disappearing completely.
Chabaixi can create endless patterns such as bamboos and mountains or even calligraphy. There are over a dozen steps: grind tea for fine powder(粉末), pour boiled water, stir the mixture, and draw the patterns. It is different from making latte because people use clear water as the object to put into the cup instead of milk. But when the water touches the surface of whipped tea, it turns into a white color and disappears in 20 minutes.
"Chabaixi is one of the countless forms of tea-making techniques in China. The importance of chabaixi is not only that this technique is unique in the world, but also it gives us a window into people's lifestyle in the Song Dynasty, a period of time when leisure activities in some ways resemble what we have now," Zhang, a practitioner of chabaixi said.
Before chabaixi was discovered by TV audiences, the technique was listed as part of China's Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017, after it was recovered by Zhang Zhifeng. He started researching the origins of chabaixi in the 1980s and brought the technique back in 2009 after decades of trials and practice. Zhang spent nearly 30 years studying and researching the origins and making of tea, but for him it was all worthwhile.
"This technique is key to the tea culture of the Song Dynasty, and it would be a shame to let it fade. This technique must be passed on to the next generations so they can understand its history," Zhang said.
