Cheng Ho Tea House

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Tea is an indispensable part of the life of a Chinese. A Chinese saying identifies the seven basic daily necessities as fuel, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. The custom of drinking tea is deeply ingrained in almost every Chinese, and has been for over a thousand years (Jing Tea Shop, 2009). The Chinese were the first to discover tea. Wherever Chinese go, the custom of drinking tea follows. Back when I was spending enough time in Hong Kong China, almost every morning in any parks would be the spot for retired elderly, gathering leisurely around a small pot of tea.Tea is made from the young, tender leaves of the tea tree. The differences among the many kinds of tea available are based on the particular methods used to process the leaves. And believe it or not, all tea comes from the same plant; the Camellia sinensis. There are a great variety of teas – over 3000, in fact. All of them have one thing in common: they are made from the leaves or buds of some variant of Camellia Senensis. The key to the whole process is the roasting and fermentation. Through fermentation, the originally deep green leaves become either reddish to brown in color. The longer the fermentation would result in the darker colour of tea leaves. Depending on the length of the roasting and degree of fermentation, the fragrance can range from floral, to fruity, to malty (Parkinson. R, 2012).Historical records reveal that Ming Dynasty’s Admiral Cheng Ho (Zheng He) visited Melaka (Malacca) at least five times during his famous seven voyages to the Western Ocean (Southeast Asia, Indian Ocean, Middle East and Africa). Some claims that he set up a huge warehouse complex along the northern side of the Melaka River. However, many others do not agree. (http://chengho.org, 2012).Together with Cheng Ho Cultural Museum, this Chinese teahouse is a tranquil break free from the crowd and noise on Jonker Street in Melaka. Situated in a historic building, this tea house is preserves the heritage design of atmospheric space with high timber ceilings with a central courtyard and rather airy space.The linings of its walls are wooden panels inscribed with Chinese calligraphy as well as beautiful Chinese painted carvings.Apart from the amazing ambience, the tea house also allow visitors to understand the ancient art of tea ceremony for RM 30 per table for 4 person, and watch the puppet show about the Admiral Cheng Ho’s voyages (1371-1433). This place is really huge with quite a bit of interesting interior and furniture to be appreciated. There are many antiques and furniture that has been very well preserved.Served with light nut and seed bites, this tea break is perfectly amazing for some quality bonding time. At the same time, enjoy and learn a little bit of the art of tea ceremony from the tea connoisseur who will share the Chinese art of tea tasting.The proprietress serves us well and it was indeed lovely to have that quick chat with her. Here is the demonstration of tea ceremony and how we should be savouring tea. A common mistake people often make is to steep tea leaves for a long time to achieve the thick extract out of it. continue reading