Winter has arrived, and spring is not far behind

Gather around the stove, live joyfully

“Light a fire, Brew a pot of tea”

If you were to ask what lifestyle trend is currently most popular,

it would undoubtedly be “gathering around the stove to brew tea.”

Sitting together, drinking tea and chatting

is the most comfortable winter ritual.

The Winter Solstice has arrived

The Winter Solstice is a very important solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar, as well as a traditional Chinese festival, commonly known as the “Festival of Longest Night,” marking the day with the shortest daytime and longest night in the northern hemisphere.

After the Winter Solstice, the climate throughout China enters its coldest phase. People should dress warmly according to the weather, pay attention to keeping warm, ensure indoor ventilation to change the air, and reduce and inhibit the proliferation of bacteria and viruses.

The Winter Solstice —— Brewing Tea with Ease

At year's end and the arrival of the Winter Solstice, take tea as your friend and flowers as your companions. Gather with a few good friends and enjoy this fine winter time without regret.

Drinking tea has taken on a new form — “gathering around the stove to brew tea” has become a hit on various online social platforms. For the Winter Solstice, meet up for a tea-brewing session, perhaps in a courtyard teahouse hidden away from the city bustle, or for a more lively setting at a tea culture park, or even a short distance away, a suburban camping spot where you can set up a small table, place a charcoal stove on it, put an iron grid over the stove, place a Teapot on the grid, brew carefully selected tea leaves, and have seasonal snacks like sweet potatoes, chestnuts, and persimmons scattered around. The ambiance is full of warmth and conviviality as friends gather around the stove, chatting and laughing.

In the cold weather, a Cup of hot tea is the best comfort. Over the small stove, a faint flame flickers, the water in the kettle slowly boils, emitting a fine mist. The warmth of the room blends with the aroma of the tea, gradually warming the drinker both physically and emotionally.

What Is Tea Brewing?

Brewing tea refers to the practice of cooking tea in water before drinking. Directly cooking tea in a pot was the most common way of drinking tea in China before the Tang Dynasty. After the Tang Dynasty, dried tea was brewed. During the Tang and Song dynasties, brewing tea was prevalent, involving crushing tea into powder, making it into tea cakes, and then adding ingredients such as green onions, ginger, orange peels, mint, dates, and salt to boil together. Another method involved grinding tea into a fine powder, mixing it with water to create a paste, hence the term “eating tea.” Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, brewing tea has replaced cooking it, and no additional seasonings are added. From the Ming and Qing dynasties onward, Steeping tea became popular. For modern tea enthusiasts, the value of brewing tea lies more in experiencing the atmosphere and enjoying the form of brewing itself.

Gathering around the stove to brew tea feels both familiar and novel. A thousand years ago, Lu Yu, the Sage of Tea, recorded details about “brewing tea” in his book “The Classic of Tea – Chapter Seven: Historical Notes.” Lu Yu's method of brewing tea emphasized technique and aesthetic pleasure, requiring harmony between the tea, water, fire, and utensils. On November 29th, Chinese tea also successfully made it onto the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.