Chapter 52 Yan Cha

When Benyi was raising horses in the agency, he was least used to tea in the city. Generally speaking, Maqiao people drink ginger tea, also called Lei Cha.Use a small tooth-faced mortar to beat and scrape some ginger powder, add salt, and mix it with boiling water in the hanging pot several times.People from better families use copper pots instead of tile pots, and the copper pots are always polished and shiny, with extraordinary momentum.Housewives put beans, sesame and other spices into iron pots and stuff them into firewood to stir fry.They were not afraid of being scalded, and while lighting firewood under the stove, they held the iron pot with their fingers and shook it a few times to prevent the spices inside from burning.The clattering sound of rock and roll and the explosion of beans and sesame seeds soon released a hot aroma, which made the guests smile.

Some of the more solemn tea styles are to add red dates and eggs to the tea. Benyi couldn't understand why people in the city had enough money to drink Yancha, that is, tea without spices, which was the lowest kind of tea.Yan tea is not boiled temporarily, it is usually boiled in a large pot, stored in large pots, once left for two or three days, it only has the effect of quenching thirst.Yancha often does not use tea leaves, and is fired with some tea tree poles, and the color is as deep as sauce. The name of "Yan" tea may come from this. Isn't it ridiculous that people in the city only drink this kind of tea instead of Lei Cha?Isn't it pitiful?