Tea on the Job

Tea on the Job

Today, every office desk has its tea mug or glass. Workmates rotate the task of bringing big thermoses of hot water from a boiler elsewhere on the premises, and the first thing office workers do in the morning is to make their tea. Fresh hot water is added to the leaves of green tea throughout the day, and most particularly before a meeting, for almost everyone takes a teacup along.

The farmer who works in the fields in the hot south brings a gourd full of tea from home. He hollows out a bottle gourd and allows it to dry  thoroughly. For easier carrying, he may weave a two-handled bamboo basket around it, or he may sling it over his shoulder on a string. In any other container the tea would become as hot as the sun in a few hours. But the gourd keeps the tea cool and preserves its natural flavor. Some field workers keep their gourds in a spring so that they can have an even cooler drink.

Anyone who has traveled in China must wonder how many cups of tea he or sea has imbibed by the time the tour ended. Local favorites are served with every stop and at every "brief introduction" at every factory, museum, what-have-you visited, as well as before every meal.

On all Chinese trains, clean, covered mugs are supplied and hot water for tea is brought around by the conductors. You can buy a pack of green tea for a few fen, or use what you have brought along.

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