flipLü cha — Hunan green tea, infused and chewed
Lü cha — Hunan green tea, infused and chewed
Why this dish? Mao was a heavy drinker of green tea and had the peculiar habit, attested by his entourage, of chewing and swallowing the infused leaves at the bottom of his cup rather than discarding them. Hunan itself is a major tea-producing province.
A simple infusion of green tea leaves in a lidded cup, pale green with a vegetal bitterness. At the last sip, one eats the softened leaves — Mao's personal habit, a peasant's anti-waste gesture.
Never throw away the leaves, comrade! City people spit them out — what a waste. I drink my tea throughout the day, and when the cup is empty, I eat the leaves at the bottom. They have already given everything, and yet they still nourish. It's a peasant reflex: nothing is lost.
- •Hunan green tea leaves — a pinch (infusion)
- •Hot spring water (not boiling) — one cup (extraction)
Lü cha — Hunan green tea, infused and chewed
A simple infusion of green tea leaves in a lidded cup, pale green with a vegetal bitterness. At the last sip, one eats the softened leaves — Mao's personal habit, a peasant's anti-waste gesture.
Why this dish? Mao was a heavy drinker of green tea and had the peculiar habit, attested by his entourage, of chewing and swallowing the infused leaves at the bottom of his cup rather than discarding them. Hunan itself is a major tea-producing province.
Never throw away the leaves, comrade! City people spit them out — what a waste. I drink my tea throughout the day, and when the cup is empty, I eat the leaves at the bottom. They have already given everything, and yet they still nourish. It's a peasant reflex: nothing is lost.
Ingredients (period version)
- Hunan green tea leaves — a pinch (infusion)
- Hot spring water (not boiling) — one cup (extraction)
Ingredients
- Chinese green tea leaves (e.g., Mao Jian type) — 1 tsp (infusion)
- Water at 80 °C — 250 ml (gentle extraction without excessive bitterness)
Method
- Heat water without bringing it to a full boil (around 80 °C, to avoid burning the leaves).
- Place the leaves directly in a cup or lidded gaiwan.
- Pour water, cover, and let steep for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Drink, pushing aside the leaves with the lid.
- Re-infuse the same pinch of leaves two or three times during the day.
- Finally, in Mao's manner, one can eat the infused leaves: tender and slightly bitter.
How it was made : Green tea was drunk without a teapot, leaves loose at the bottom of a covered cup (gaiwan), re-infused several times — a daily and popular use in China. Eating the leaves was part of a peasant economy where nothing usable was wasted.
The contemporary twist : Shred the infused leaves over a salad or warm rice, like a 'tea leaf salad', to waste nothing in a nod to Mao's gesture.
Mao Zedong · Charactorium
