Macau has played leading role in brewing world’s love of drinking tea
Historian Lo Heng Kong and tea master Andrew U, of Galaxy Macau integrated resort, who pairs drink with food, both keen to promote its health benefits
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Tea historian Lo Heng Kong and Galaxy Macau tea master Andrew U share aromatic brews
Tea is one of China’s most famous global exports, but few people may be aware of the pivotal role played by Macau in making the drink a worldwide phenomenon.
During the 17th century, interest in tea was limited to European trading outposts in the Southeast Asian region, but it was the Dutch who were the first people in Europe to make tea drinking fashionable in their own country.
By the time Princess Catherine of Braganza, daughter of Portugal’s King John IV, married King Charles II and became the queen of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1662, the drinking of tea was already popular among the aristocracy in the southern European country.
In fact, the tradition of afternoon tea in the United Kingdom is believed to have been introduced by Catherine, and Macau was where much of the fragrant goods were loaded on the ship for its journey further afield.
“By the 1860s, the tea trade in Macau was booming,” Lo Heng Kong, founder of the Chinese Teaism Association of Macao, says. “Unions of tea processing workers benefited greatly from it. They contributed significant funds to the renovation of the A-Ma Temple.”
The historic place of worship – one of the Unesco Historic Monuments of Macao – in the southeast part of the city, which honours Ama, the Chinese goddess of seafarers, already existed when the Portuguese arrived; the name Macau is derived from the Chinese name, Ama-gao, meaning Bay of Ama. The temple was particularly important to the people of Macau when shipping was the mainstay of the city’s economy.
“The workers were even able to afford a plaque placed at the top of the main hall,” Lo says. “It cost a fortune. If organised workers could afford it, imagine how much money the bosses were making.”
Lo’s love for tea was instilled in him by his father, who used to work at a teahouse in the 1950s. “When I was very young, he took me to the teahouse, where I was able to watch him using the refined techniques and tools at work,” he says.
“Drinking tea is beneficial to our health, and doing it together with friends also makes the moment special. It brings comfort and peace to the relationship, and if you add to it exquisite teaware, it makes the experience spiritual.”
The pairing of tea with food is another way to enjoy a refreshing brew and Andrew U, the 30-something tea master at Galaxy Macau integrated resort, and winner of the 2018 National Competition for Tea Sommeliers, has got it down to a fine art.
“We have different restaurants at Galaxy serving different cuisines, including Cantonese, Northern, Southern, and Sichuan cooking,” U says. “If a diner is given a weak tea while eating strongly flavoured food, it will taste like drinking hot water, and if a diner who eats lightly flavoured dishes is given too-strong a tea, it will not taste right.”
Other than the food, a diner’s bodily condition is also a consideration when it comes to serving tea. “We can recommend a tea that is warming in nature to help the diner warm up his stomach or, if a diner is going to consume ‘warming’ food, we can recommend a ‘cooling’ tea.”
Based on traditional Chinese medicine theory, different foods can have varying effects on the body’s chi – the internal life force or flow of energy that can experience excessively “hot” or “chilly” phases.
As well as the general tea categories, such as black tea, dark tea, white tea and green tea, U also uses alternative brewing methods to achieve different results, such as cold-brewing and ice-dripping.
The addition of different ingredients to the tea, such as flowers and mushrooms, can also enhance the drinking experience.
“For example, with shui xian tea, which is an oolong tea, we can add cordyceps [fungus] and princess matsutake [mushroom] to the blend and give it a wild mushroom aroma,” U says. “It will also add a sweet note in the mouth and relieve the feeling of dryness in the autumn.
“Another ingredient, osmanthus [flowers], is also moisturising and warming. It can improve the body’s immunity and kidney functions, and offset greasiness in the food.”
Click on the video for more about the art of enjoying tea and how it complements different dishes.