Chabaixi, which literally means “hundred surprises with tea”, gained popularity overnight after being featured in a popular Chinese drama. Indeed, “A Dream of Splendor” brought to life an intricate ancient forgotten Chinese ceremony requiring calligraphy and patterns appearing in the froth of whipped tea, “dian cha” style. A thousand-year-old art!
An art that we can drink? Yes, but long forgotten by the Chinese people… although it was added to the list of intangible cultural heritage items of Fujian province in 2017.
Yes, this art was still practiced but by enthusiasts, in very small numbers.
“Chabaixi”, also often called tea painting, is a very special tea ceremony. It was the scholars and officials in the Song dynasty (960-1279) who practiced it with a spirit not so far removed from the Buddhist ceremonies of the time.
Indeed, like writing poems or painting, chabaixi was a way to express emotions and find inner peace in ancient times.” Widely described in ancient poems, the chabaixi ceremony however involved complicated procedures.
The ancestor of Japanese matcha
Even before drawing in the foam, the “dian cha” had to be prepared!
There were more than a dozen steps: from grinding the tea into a fine powder, pouring boiled water and whipping the mixture into a thick foam, and finally getting to finely trace the design of the patterns. .
The process before drawing is known as diancha, a tea-making technique popular in the Tang and Song dynasties in China and still widely used in Japan today… for their famous matcha green tea.
In fact, to put it simply: without a high quality foam, no artistic and elegant patterns…
Ephemeral art without a “latte”!
Unlike latte art in barista coffee, chabaixi uses plain water to thicken the foam.
But how does it work?
When the small water droplets rise to the surface of the whipped tea, using a thin wooden teaspoon, it is transformed into a white color which usually disappears after 15 to 20 minutes.
After that art disappears on your palate. Close your eyes and imagine the drawing you drank again. It is magic.
