Nation's tea culture brews up lovely surprise

Coming, as I do, from the UK, I am more than familiar with drinking tea and the delightful pause it offers from the demands of a hectic day. So, even before I came to China, I was excited to come to a country that also had a rich and long-established tea culture.

However, nothing had quite prepared me for the myriad, subtle intricacies of the art of not just tea making, but everything that went into the process of producing the tea itself. In a world that seems to be addicted to the early morning coffee rush, as well as the late morning caffeine pick-me-up, it's refreshing to pause and consider tea's subtle, gentle delights.

The world of Chinese tea is also endlessly surprising. After spending six years in Guangzhou and often visiting its sprawling tea market, which has more than 600 teashops, I thought I was fairly well versed in the subject-and varieties-of Chinese tea. However, surprises come often in China, and they can be pleasant indeed.