TV drama puts spotlight on ancient tea art

Chinese tea culture has witnessed a long history. Starting from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it flourished throughout the Song Dynasty, when the popular way of having tea became dian cha - a kind of tea art.

It is an exquisite technique that starts from pouring hot water over fine powdered tea to make it mushy. Then more hot water is added slowly while the tea is constantly stirred by hand with a bamboo stick to create froth, which can be used to draw patterns on the surface of it. This action of pouring hot water is called dian, giving this art the name dian cha, while the art of using water to draw on the tea is called chabaixi.